Chemical Sensors for Cellular Messengers Come of Age
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
1:30 p.m., Room 272 

Organizers:

Andrew G. Ewing, Pennsylvania State University and R. Mark Wightman, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Speakers:

1:30       Introductory Remarks -   Andrew G Ewing

1:35      Tracking Neurotransmitter Fate from Storage to Release to Inactivation  MARK WIGHTMAN, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2:10      Probing Functional Differences in Sympathetic Neuroeffector Transmission to Rat Mesenteric Arteries and Veins  GREG M SWAIN, Michigan State University, Jinwoo Park, Gregory D Fink, James J Galligan, Hua Dong

2:45     Multielectrode Sensors to Monitor Transmitters Released from Single Cells ANDREW G EWING, Goteborg University, Bo Zhang

3:20     Quantitative Aspects of Single-Cell Electroporation: A Window on the Cell  STEPHEN WEBER, University of Pittsburgh, Aparna Agarwal, Bradley Lambie, Manyan Wang, Juanfang Wu, Owe Orwar

3:55     Single-Molecule Studies of Synaptic Vesicles  DANIEL T CHIU, University of Washington

Overview:

One of the true frontiers for Chemistry and especially Analytical Chemistry remains the understanding of chemical interaction between molecules, cells and systems in the functioning brain. Although Ralph Adams pushed this area to the forefront in the 1970’s, it is still as fresh today as then and in fact, getting more exciting as analytical techniques are pushed to smaller sizes, more sensitive detection limits, and to more diverse molecular species

This symposium will address issues involving the development and exciting new applications of the methods being brought to bear on more sensitive, more molecularly diverse, and smaller size measurements in the brain. This is a highly interesting area of bioanalysis that involves ultrasmall and ultrasensitive analytical methods.

The symposium will begin with a talk by one of the field’s leaders, R. Mark Wightman of the University of North Carolina, and will address tracking molecules during brain function in a talk, “Tracking neurotransmitter fate from storage to release to inactivation”. A discussion of novel approaches to the detection of norepinephrine – a transmitter that is very difficult to address analytically, but is critical in brain function – will be given in a talk, “Understanding Neurogenic Control Mechanisms of Arteries and Veins Through Local Measurements of Norepinephrine” by Greg Swain of Michigan State University. Single cell analysis has played an important role in analytical sensors for cellular chemistry and the symposium will present material from three of the leaders in this area. First, in a talk, “Multielectrode sensors to monitor transmitters released from single cells” Andrew Ewing of the University of Gothenburg Sweden and Penn State University will discuss the fabrication and application of a small-tip electrode array to spatially monitor the dynamics of chemical release from a single cell. Stephen Weber of the University of Pittsburgh will present a talk, “Novel applications and sensing with electroporation of single cells” presenting a method to change, inject even transform single cells. The symposium will wrap up with a talk by Daniel Chiu of the University of Washington, “Single-molecule studies of synaptic vesicles.” This work will involve ultrasmall sampling techniques and highly sensitive fluorescence for single-cell analysis at vesicular structures inside of cells. This symposium will provide a window on the area with some of the most exciting new developments in bioanalytical chemistry, single-cell and single-molecule chemistry.