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Modeling and development of screen-printed impedance biosensor for cytotoxicity studies of lung carcinoma cells

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Abstract

Electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) is a powerful technique to monitor real-time cell behavior. In this study, an ECIS biosensor formed using two interdigitated electrode structures (IDEs) was used to monitor cell behavior and its response to toxicants. Three different sensors with varied electrode spacing were first modeled using COMSOL Multiphysics and then fabricated and tested. The silver/silver chloride IDEs were fabricated using a screen-printing technique and incorporated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) cell culture wells. To study the effectiveness of the biosensor, A549 lung carcinoma cells were seeded in the culture wells together with collagen as an extracellular matrix (ECM) to promote cell attachment on electrodes. A549 cells were cultured in the chambers and impedance measurements were taken at 12-h intervals for 120 h. Cell index (CI) for both designs were calculated from the impedance measurement and plotted in comparison with the growth profile of the cells in T-flasks. To verify that the ECIS biosensor can also be used to study cell response to toxicants, the A549 cells were also treated with anti-cancer drug, paclitaxel, and its responses were monitored over 5 days. Both simulation and experimental results show better sensitivity for smaller spacing between electrodes.

The fabricated impedance biosensor used screen-printed silver/silver chloride IDEs. Simulation and experimental results show better sensitivity for smaller between electrodes.

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Funding

This work is supported by Malaysia Ministry of Science and Technology (MOSTI) e-Science Research Grant (SF16-004-0073) and Malaysia Ministry of Education FRGS Research Grant (FRGS14-111-0352).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Ahmad Fairuzabadi Mohd Mansor, Ahmad Anwar Zainuddin & Anis Nurashikin Nordin

  2. Department of Biotechnology Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Irmanisha Ibrahim

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, City College of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Ioana Voiculescu

Authors
  1. Ahmad Fairuzabadi Mohd Mansor
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Correspondence to Anis Nurashikin Nordin.

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Mansor, A.F.M., Ibrahim, I., Zainuddin, A.A. et al. Modeling and development of screen-printed impedance biosensor for cytotoxicity studies of lung carcinoma cells. Med Biol Eng Comput 56, 173–181 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-017-1756-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-017-1756-1

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