The University of Texas at San Antonio

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Bioengineering

Gold Nanostar Synthesis with a Silver Seed Mediated Growth Method

Zurab Kereselidze¹, Victor H. Romero², Xomalin G. Peralta¹, Fidel Santamaria³

¹Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas at San Antonio, ²Centro de Investigaciones en Optica A. C., ³Department of Biology and Neurosciences Institute, The University of Texas at San Antonio

We synthesized star shaped gold nanostars using a silver seed mediated growth method. The diameter of the nanostars ranges from 200 to 300 nm and the number of tips vary from 7 to 10. The nanoparticles have a broad surface plasmon resonance mode centered in the near infrared.

Neuroscience

In vivo Calcium Imaging of Mouse Geniculate Ganglion Neuron Responses to Taste Stimuli

Bryan E. Fowler¹, Lindsey J. Macpherson¹

¹Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Here we present how to expose the geniculate ganglion of a live, anesthetized laboratory mouse and how to use calcium imaging to measure the responses of ensembles of these neurons to taste stimuli, allowing for multiple trials with different stimulants. This allows for in depth comparisons of which neurons respond to which tastants.