Induction of Electrode-Cellular Interfaces with $\sim $ 0.05 $\mu $m$^{2}$ Contact Areas

Individual cells of the slime mold \textit{Dictyostelium discoideum} attach themselves to negatively biased nanoelectrodes that are separated by 30 $\mu $m from grounded electrodes. There is a -43 mV voltage-threshold for cell-to-electrode attachment, with negligible probability across the 0 to -38 mV range but probability that approaches 0.7 across the -46 to -100 mV range. A cell initiates contact by extending a pseudopod to the electrode and maintains contact until the voltage is turned off. Scanning electron micrographs of these interfaces show the contact areas to be of the order of 0.05 $\mu $m$^{2}$. Insight into this straight-forward, reproducible process may lead to new electrode-cellular attachment strategies that complement established approaches, such as blind sampling and patch clamp.