Surface plasmon-enhanced optical trapping of quantum-dot-conjugated surface molecules on neurons cultured on a plasmonic chip

Kohei Miyauchi, Keiko Tawa, Suguru N. Kudoh, Takahisa Taguchi and Chie Hosokawa

Living neurons in a complex neuronal network communicate with each other through synaptic connections. The molecular dynamics of cell surface molecules localized at synaptic terminals is essential for functional connections via synaptic plasticity in the neuronal network. Here, we demonstrate surface-plasmon-resonance-based optical trapping using a plasmonic chip toward realizing effective manipulation of molecules on the surface of neurons. Surface-plasmon-enhanced optical trapping was evaluated by the fluorescence analysis of nanoparticles suspended in water and neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) labeled with quantum dots (Q-dots) on rat hippocampal neurons. The motion of nanoparticles in water and the molecular dynamics of NCAMs on neuronal cells cultured on a plasmonic chip were constrained at the laser focus more effectively than those on a glass substrate because of the surface plasmon resonance effect.

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