| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/D001722/1 |
| Title: |
Detecting Bioelectrical Activity of Individual Living Cells |
| Principal Investigator: |
Geim, Professor Sir A |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Physics and Astronomy |
| Organisation: |
University of Manchester, The |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 July 2005 |
Ends: |
30 September 2006 |
Value (£): |
85,576
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Cells |
Surfaces & Interfaces |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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For complex organisms such as mammals, their biological activity can be recorded and studied by measuring electrocardiograms and electroencephalograms, which are widely used in medical diagnostics. Simpler life forms can also generate local electrical fields (e.g., when firing, neurons produce relatively large voltages). One may reasonably expect that even simplest life forms such as individual cells or bacteria generate some sort of electric fields around them. Indeed, from the physics point of view, life is a motion of ions. To stay alive, individual cells have to constantly transfer ions through their membranes. Having developed a measurement technique capable of detecting the charge of a single ion in a submicron volume at ambient conditions, we have become interested in detecting possible electrical signals associated with ion currents in and around living cells. One might consider these signals as a sort of electrocardiograms for individual bacteria. Such a technique could be used for monitoring the wellbeing of small live organisms and examining their response to new drugs and chemicals.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.man.ac.uk |