Towards a dynamic clamp for neurochemical modalities

A dynamic clamp protocol to artificially modify cell capacitance

Dynamics of excitable cells and networks depend on the membrane time constant, set by membrane resistance and capacitance. Whereas pharmacological and genetic manipulations of ionic conductances of excitable membranes are routine in electrophysiology, experimental control over capacitance remains a challenge. Here, we present capacitance clamp, an approach that allows electrophysiologists to mimic a modified capacitance in biological neurons via an unconventional application of the dynamic clamp technique. We first demonstrate the feasibility to quantitatively modulate capacitance in a mathematical neuron model and then confirm the functionality of capacitance clamp in in vitro experiments in granule cells of rodent dentate gyrus with up to threefold virtual capacitance changes. Clamping of capacitance thus constitutes a novel technique to probe and decipher mechanisms of neuronal signaling in ways that were so far inaccessible to experimental electrophysiology.

Carbon nanotube modification of microbial fuel cell electrodes

The use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for energy harvesting devices is preferable due to their unique mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties. On the other hand, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising devices to recover carbon-neutral energy from the organic matters, and have been hindered with major setbacks towards commercialization. Nanoengineered CNT-based materials show remarkable electrochemical properties, and therefore have provided routes towards highly effective modification of MFC compartments to ultimately reach the theoretical limits of biomass energy recovery, low-cost power production, and thus the commercialization of MFCs. Moreover, these CNT-based composites offer significant flexibility in the design of MFCs that enable their use for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from scaled-up power generation to medically related devices. This article reviews the recent advances in the modification of MFCs using CNTs and CNT-based composites, and the extent to which each modification route impacts MFC power and current generation.