Combined SECM-SICM technique for topography and electrochemistry published in Angew. Chem.
used for SECM-SICM measurements
The Surface and Nanoanalysis group at NPL, in partnership with Imperial College London and the University of Warwick, have developed the capability to simultaneously map the topography and electrochemical activity of soft surfaces, such as live cells in physiological buffer solution.
This has been achieved by combining Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy (SICM) with Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM) through the use of a double-barrel carbon nanoprobe.
This work has been published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition (50, (2011) 9638-9642) and describes a method for producing cheap and reliable SECM-SICM probes in a couple of minutes. The imaging of live sensory neurons with this technique, and the ability to locally deliver chemical species using the SICM barrel of the probe, has also been detailed.
For more information, please contact Andrew Pollard