Nanopipette with a lipid nanotube as nanochannel

Single cell analysis gets a lot of attentions to reveal the unknown biological aspects of individual cells. To analyze properties of a single cell, local environmental control is desired. We propose a novel type of nanopipette where a lipid nanotube (LNT) as a nanochannel is attached to apply the minimal changes to the environment. LNTs have hollow cylindrical nanostructures consisting of lipid bilayer membranes and their outer and inner surfaces are hydrophilic. Fabrication process of the LNT nanopipette includes two main parts; to pick up an LNT and to seal the interspace between it and glass micropipette. The fluorescent solution was spouted from the fabricated LNT nanopipette. The nanopipette is effective to local environmental control as an end-effecter for biological applications.