Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device
Cell viability is an essential physiological status for drug screening. While cell staining is a conventional cell viability analysis method, dye staining is usually cytotoxic. Alternatively, impedance cytometry provides a straightforward and label-free sensing approach for the assessment of cell vi...
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/2/407 |
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| author | Bowen Yang Chao Wang Xinyi Liang Jinchao Li Shanshan Li Jie Jayne Wu Tanbin Su Junwei Li |
| author_facet | Bowen Yang Chao Wang Xinyi Liang Jinchao Li Shanshan Li Jie Jayne Wu Tanbin Su Junwei Li |
| author_sort | Bowen Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cell viability is an essential physiological status for drug screening. While cell staining is a conventional cell viability analysis method, dye staining is usually cytotoxic. Alternatively, impedance cytometry provides a straightforward and label-free sensing approach for the assessment of cell viability. A key element of impedance cytometry is its sensing electrodes. Most state-of-the-art electrodes are made of expensive metals, microfabricated by lithography, with a typical size of ten microns. In this work, we proposed a low-cost microfluidic impedance cytometry device with 100-micron wide indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes to achieve a comparable performance to the 10-micron wide Au electrodes. The effectiveness was experimentally verified as 7 μm beads can be distinguished from 10 μm beads. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest geometry ratio of the target to the sensing unit in the impedance cytometry technology. Furthermore, a cell viability test was performed on MCF-7 cells. The proposed double differential impedance cytometry device has successfully differentiated the living and dead MCF-7 cells with a throughput of ~1000 cells/s. The label-free and low-cost, high-throughput impedance cytometry could benefit drug screening, fundamental biological research and other biomedical applications. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:24:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-babb91646dbf4407b7f3e7d3af036c4e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:24:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-babb91646dbf4407b7f3e7d3af036c4e2023-11-16T22:11:49ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2023-02-0114240710.3390/mi14020407Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry DeviceBowen Yang0Chao Wang1Xinyi Liang2Jinchao Li3Shanshan Li4Jie Jayne Wu5Tanbin Su6Junwei Li7Hebei Key Laboratory of Smart Sensing and Human-Robot Interactions, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaHebei Key Laboratory of Smart Sensing and Human-Robot Interactions, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaInstitute of Biophysics, School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, ChinaHebei Key Laboratory of Smart Sensing and Human-Robot Interactions, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaHebei Key Laboratory of Smart Sensing and Human-Robot Interactions, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaDepartment of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37919, USAHebei Key Laboratory of Smart Sensing and Human-Robot Interactions, School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300130, ChinaInstitute of Biophysics, School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin 300401, ChinaCell viability is an essential physiological status for drug screening. While cell staining is a conventional cell viability analysis method, dye staining is usually cytotoxic. Alternatively, impedance cytometry provides a straightforward and label-free sensing approach for the assessment of cell viability. A key element of impedance cytometry is its sensing electrodes. Most state-of-the-art electrodes are made of expensive metals, microfabricated by lithography, with a typical size of ten microns. In this work, we proposed a low-cost microfluidic impedance cytometry device with 100-micron wide indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes to achieve a comparable performance to the 10-micron wide Au electrodes. The effectiveness was experimentally verified as 7 μm beads can be distinguished from 10 μm beads. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest geometry ratio of the target to the sensing unit in the impedance cytometry technology. Furthermore, a cell viability test was performed on MCF-7 cells. The proposed double differential impedance cytometry device has successfully differentiated the living and dead MCF-7 cells with a throughput of ~1000 cells/s. The label-free and low-cost, high-throughput impedance cytometry could benefit drug screening, fundamental biological research and other biomedical applications.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/2/407microfluidic impedance cytometrylow-cost ITO electrodescell viability analysislabel-free sensingsensitive electrodes |
| spellingShingle | Bowen Yang Chao Wang Xinyi Liang Jinchao Li Shanshan Li Jie Jayne Wu Tanbin Su Junwei Li Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device Micromachines microfluidic impedance cytometry low-cost ITO electrodes cell viability analysis label-free sensing sensitive electrodes |
| title | Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device |
| title_full | Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device |
| title_fullStr | Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device |
| title_full_unstemmed | Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device |
| title_short | Label-Free Sensing of Cell Viability Using a Low-Cost Impedance Cytometry Device |
| title_sort | label free sensing of cell viability using a low cost impedance cytometry device |
| topic | microfluidic impedance cytometry low-cost ITO electrodes cell viability analysis label-free sensing sensitive electrodes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/14/2/407 |
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