Investigation of the Electrical Properties of Microtubule Ensembles under Cell-Like Conditions

Kalra, Aarat P.; Patel, Sahil D.; Bhuiyan, Asadullah F.; Preto, Jordane; Scheuer, Kyle G.; Mohammed, Usman; Lewis, John D.; Rezania, Vahid; Shankar, Karthik; Tuszynski, Jack A.

doi:10.3390/nano10020265

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Investigation of the Electrical Properties of Microtubule Ensembles under Cell-Like Conditions

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Jack A. Tuszynski

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Department of Physics, University of Alberta, 11335 Saskatchewan Dr NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2M9, Canada

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, 9107–116 St, Edmonton, AB T6G 2V4, Canada

Department of Physical Sciences, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2, Canada

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Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 1Z2, Canada

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nanomaterials 2020, 10(2), 265; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020265

Received: 4 December 2019 / Revised: 28 January 2020 / Accepted: 29 January 2020 / Published: 5 February 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Nanoscale Materials for Cancer Diagnostic and Therapy)

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Abstract

Microtubules are hollow cylindrical polymers composed of the highly negatively-charged (~23e), high dipole moment (1750 D) protein α, β- tubulin. While the roles of microtubules in chromosomal segregation, macromolecular transport, and cell migration are relatively well-understood, studies on the electrical properties of microtubules have only recently gained strong interest. Here, we show that while microtubules at physiological concentrations increase solution capacitance, free tubulin has no appreciable effect. Further, we observed a decrease in electrical resistance of solution, with charge transport peaking between 20–60 Hz in the presence of microtubules, consistent with recent findings that microtubules exhibit electric oscillations at such low frequencies. We were able to quantify the capacitance and resistance of the microtubules (MT) network at physiological tubulin concentrations to be 1.27 × 10⁻⁵ F and 9.74 × 10⁴ Ω. Our results show that in addition to macromolecular transport, microtubules also act as charge storage devices through counterionic condensation across a broad frequency spectrum. We conclude with a hypothesis of an electrically tunable cytoskeleton where the dielectric properties of tubulin are polymerisation-state dependent. View Full-Text

Keywords: microtubules; bioelectricity; bionanowires; neuronal charge storage; impedance spectroscopy; cytoskeleton

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kalra, A.P.; Patel, S.D.; Bhuiyan, A.F.; Preto, J.; Scheuer, K.G.; Mohammed, U.; Lewis, J.D.; Rezania, V.; Shankar, K.; Tuszynski, J.A. Investigation of the Electrical Properties of Microtubule Ensembles under Cell-Like Conditions. Nanomaterials 2020, 10, 265. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020265

AMA Style

Kalra AP, Patel SD, Bhuiyan AF, Preto J, Scheuer KG, Mohammed U, Lewis JD, Rezania V, Shankar K, Tuszynski JA. Investigation of the Electrical Properties of Microtubule Ensembles under Cell-Like Conditions. Nanomaterials. 2020; 10(2):265. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020265

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kalra, Aarat P., Sahil D. Patel, Asadullah F. Bhuiyan, Jordane Preto, Kyle G. Scheuer, Usman Mohammed, John D. Lewis, Vahid Rezania, Karthik Shankar, and Jack A. Tuszynski. 2020. "Investigation of the Electrical Properties of Microtubule Ensembles under Cell-Like Conditions" Nanomaterials 10, no. 2: 265. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano10020265

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