Approaching sub-cellular biological problems requires the incorporation of new technologies and readouts. Due to their low invasiveness, nanotechnology-based tools hold great promise for single-cell manipulation. In this Innovation Showcase, we discuss the incorporation of electrical measurements into nanopipette technology and present results showing the rapid and reversible response of these subcellular sensors to different analytes such as antigens, ions, and carbohydrates.

Our main focus is the introduction of a newly developed single-cell manipulation platform (SU-10) using a nanopipette for single-cell injection into living cells. This newly developed technology positions its nanopipette with nanoscale precision allowing injection and/or aspiration of minute amounts of material into and from individual cells without comprising cell viability. Furthermore, we will display our strategy to develop this new product for single-cell-omics and how this nanopipette technology can be used to analyze multiple analytes including DNA, RNA, proteins, and other small molecules in basic research or drug discovery.