Dopamine is an important signalling molecule for nerve cells. Its concentration could not be precisely determined with both high spatial or temporal resolution until now. A new method has now made this possible: A research team from Bochum, Göttingen and Duisburg used modified carbon nanotubes that glow brighter in the presence of the messenger substance dopamine. These sensors visualise the release of dopamine from nerve cells with unprecedented resolution. The researchers headed by Professor Sebastian Kruss from the Physical Chemistry Department at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and Dr. James Daniel as well as Professor Nils Brose from the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen report on this in the journal PNAS from 25 May 2022.
