Optocapacitive Generation of Action Potentials by Microsecond Laser Pulses of Nanojoule Energy (Biophysical Journal)

Millisecond pulses of laser light delivered to gold nanoparticles residing in close proximity to the surface membrane of neurons can induce membrane depolarization and initiate an action potential. An optocapacitance mechanism proposed as the basis of this effect posits that the membrane-interfaced particle photothermally induces a cell-depolarizing capacitive current, and predicts that delivering a given laser pulse energy within a shorter period should increase the pulse`s action-potential-generating effectiveness by increasing the magnitude of this capacitive current.