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Electric cell–substrate impedance sensing exhibits a real-time and label-free feature to monitor the response of cells stimulated by various biochemical and mechanical signals. Alterations in the currents passing through the cell–electrode system characterize the impedance variations of cells. The impedance responses of HeLa cells under distinct chemotherapy drugs combine the effects of cell proliferation and cell–substrate adhesion. Optimal interdigitated electrodes were selected to explore the impedance responses of HeLa cells. Measurements of impedance of cells in response to three widely used chemotherapy drugs in clinical practice, namely cisplatin, doxorubicin, 5-fluorouracil, were performed. The results demonstrated that distinct impedance responses of HeLa cells to drugs were exhibited and a decrease in measured impedance was observed after drug treatment, accompanied by alterations in the distribution and intensity of the adhesion-related protein vinculin and the rate of cell proliferation. The link between the impedance profiles of HeLa cells and their biological functions was developed based on the circuit model. This study demonstrated the weights of cell proliferation and adhesion of HeLa cells under the treatments of DDP, DOX, and 5-FU, resulted in distinct impedance responses of cells, providing an impedance-based evaluation methodology for cervical cancer treatment.

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Background: Crystal violet dye (CV) can cause severe eye irritation and cancer due to its adsorption, ingestion, and inhalation effect. Therefore, CV in wastewater systems has severe risks to human health and environmental safety. It is essential to remove CV before it is discharged into the environment. Methods: Vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate nanoflakes with the vanadium ratio of 1 wt.%, 3 wt.%, 5 wt.%, and 10 wt.% have been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal route using sodium vanadate as the vanadium raw materials. The obtained vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and solid diffuse reflection spectrum. Results: XRD patterns show that the vanadium in the doped nanoflakes exists as triclinic Bi3.5V1.2O8.25 and monoclinic Ca0.17V2O5 phases. SEM observations show that the morphology of the products is closely related to the vanadium mass ratio. The morphology changes from the nanoflakes to irregular nanoparticles with increasing the vanadium mass ratio. The bandgap of the vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate nanoflakes decreases to 1.46 eV and 1.01 eV when the doped vanadium mass ratio reaches 5 wt.% and 10 wt.%, respectively. The photocatalytic performance for the CV removal can be greatly enhanced using 5 wt.% and 10 wt.% vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate nanoflakes, respectively. Increasing the irradiation time, vanadium mass ratio, and dosage of the nanoflakes, the photocatalytic activity for the CV removal can be improved. Conclusion: A total of 10 wt.% vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate nanoflakes have the best photocatalytic performance for CV removal. Vanadium-doped calcium bismuthate nanoflakes exhibit great application potential for the removal of organic pollutants.

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