Development of a platform for sensing cellular electrical activity using nitrogen vacancy centers in nanodiamonds

The nitrogen vacancy center (NV) in diamond hosts unique optical properties that allows it to be used for sensing magnetic fields, electric fields, and temperature. In addition, the photostability of the NV center and the biocompatibility of diamond suggests the utility of the NV center for biosensing. The dependence of the charge state of the NV center on the local electrochemical environment suggests that the NV center could be used as an optical sensor for electrophysiology. In this thesis, a platform to evaluate the utility of the NV center for voltage sensing is established. First, an electrophysiology setup is built and characterized on HEK293 cells. The setup adds functionality to a home built microscope so that cells can be electrically controlled while simultaneously observing the fluorescence. Second, the staining of neurons with hydrogen-terminated nanodiamonds (NDs) with NV centers is improved. Together, the improved staining of neurons with nanodiamonds along with using the electrophysiology setup to observe modulation forms a platform for future study of the NV center as a voltage sensor.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Anubhav Sinha, Anubhav, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dirk R. Englund.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/106445

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/106445