Qing, Q. et al. Nat. Nanotechnol. doi:10.1038/nnano.2013.273 (15 December 2013).

An ideal sensor for recording bioelectrical signals in cells would be minimally invasive and easy to manipulate. Nanowire probes such as the kinked silicon nanowire field-effect transistor (nanoFET) are much smaller than the commonly used patch-clamp micropipette tips and can be reused. But these and similar nanoprobes are typically fixed to a solid support, which makes it cumbersome or nearly impossible to target a cell of interest. Qing et al. use lithographic patterning to fabricate the nanoscale probe end that contains the electrical-sensing nanoFET and couple it to the larger probe body using a special mechanical assembly process. The resulting probe is freestanding and can be manipulated in three dimensions, thereby broadening the range of biological scenarios that can be probed.