Researchers have developed an aptamer nanosensor capable of monitoring cellular interactions in real-time that attaches to the surface of living cells.

This nanotechnology will allow scientists to see which substances are nearby and how they interact with a cell dynamically. The technology is used in a host of fields including cellular biology as well as in the development of new medications. “Our technology enables monitoring of cell signaling in real time, at a high spatio-temporal resolution, at the single-cell level is therefore significant because cells respond to cues in their niche in both time and space,” said Jeffrey Karp, co-director of the Center for Regenerative Therapeutics at BWH and one of the authors of the study.

The study will publish in the July issue of Nature Nanotechnology.