Nanofiber Device Detects Forces and Sound Waves from Live Cells
LA JOLLA, Calif., May 18, 2017 — A novel nano-sized optical fiber, about 100 times thinner than a human hair, is sensitive enough to detect forces down to 160 femtonewtons (fN) (about ten trillion times smaller than a newton) when placed in a solution containing live Helicobacter pylori bacteria, i.e. swimming bacteria found in the gut. In cultures of beating heart muscle cells from mice, the nano fiber demonstrated the ability to detect sounds down to -30 decibels — a level that’s 1,000 times below the limit of