Monitoring nanosecond electric pulse-evoked catecholamine secretion in adrenal chromaffin cells using a novel switching system for obtaining amperometric measurements

Abstract

We have been investigating the potential for nanosecond electric pulses (NEPs) to serve as a new electrostimulation approach for neuromodulation, using isolated adrenal chromaffin cells as a model of neural-type cells for these investigations. While fluorescence imaging techniques have established the efficacy of NEPs for evoking catecholamine release, the present goal is to employ carbon fiber amperometry, a quantitative technique that measures the amount of secreted catecholamines in real-time with high sensitivity.