Dielectrophoretic and Electrical Impedance Differentiation of Cancerous Cells Based on Biophysical Phenotype

Abstract

Here, we reported a study on the detection and electrical characterization of both cancer cell line and primary tumor cells. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) and electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were jointly employed to enable the rapid and label-free differentiation of various cancer cells from normal ones. The primary tumor cells that were collected from two colorectal cancer patients and cancer cell lines (SW-403, Jurkat, and THP-1), and healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were trapped first at the level of interdigitated microelectrodes with the help of dielectrophoresis. Correlation of the cells dielectric characteristics that was obtained via electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) allowed evident differentiation of the various types of cell. The differentiations were assigned to a “dielectric phenotype” based on their crossover frequencies. Finally, Randles equivalent circuit model was employed for highlighting the differences with regard to a series group of charge transport resistance and constant phase element for cancerous and normal cells.

Design and Modeling of a Device Combining Single-Cell Exposure to a Uniform Electrical Field and Simultaneous Characterization via Bioimpedance Spectroscopy

“…These results indicate that the microelectrode design was suitable for performing BIS on a cell of about 20 µm diameter with specific conductivity around 1 S/m as human monocytes. A similar impedance was measured on THP-1 cells in the work of Turcan et al and Messer et al [ 19 , 20 ].…”

“…We plan to use our device to characterize human cancerous monocytes THP-1 in our future studies. These somatic cells were used for cytotoxicity assays in our laboratory [ 18 ], and other studies have already performed BIS on these cells with success [ 19 , 20 ]. In this paper, we first present the device’s principal and characteristic dimensions.…”

Liquid Biopsy and Dielectrophoretic Analysis—Complementary Methods in Skin Cancer Monitoring

“…Depending on the employed external stimuli, there is a wide range of cell manipulation techniques currently in use, including dielectrophoresis (DEP). DEP is a non-invasive manipulation method suitable for measurements at the micro-and nanoscale level, with a great applicability potential in a large variety of bioparticles, including several types of tumor cells [73], CTCs [74], DNA [75], RNA [76] and other small particles, such as exosomes [77].…”

Optimization design of interdigitated microelectrodes with an insulation layer on the connection tracks to enhance efficiency of assessment of the cell viability

“…This study modified the system with a copper-free HAL fabrication and a silver coating to avoid toxic effects on biological cells. Similarly to [ 62 ], conventional impedance sensing is used. However, this study relies on a portable system with a Saleae logic analyzer as a control unit between the sensor and the GUI graphical user interface.…”