Investigation of Active and Inactivated Yeast Cells by Scanning Electrochemical Impedance Microscopy

Abstract

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electrochemical impedance microscopy (SEIM) were used to investigate electrochemical activity of active and inactivated yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. SEIM experiment was performed using a unique electrochemical impedance spectrometer with a fast Fourier transform (FFT‐EIS) function, which enabled simultaneously perturb/evaluate electrochemical system at 50 frequencies. This allowed very quick observing the differences between impedance spectra, which were taken every few seconds. Therefore, we were able to apply SEIM for relatively fast determination of electrochemical impedance dependence on the distance between ultramicroelectrode (UME) and surface modified by immobilized yeast cells. It was determined that electrochemical activity and ‘breathing’ (a consumption of dissolved oxygen) of yeast can be electrochemically observed when the distance between UME and surface of yeast cells is in the range from 0 μm to 25 μm. Therefore, 25 μm is the maximum distance suitable for efficient investigation of yeast cell activity when experiments are performed in FFT‐SEIM mode. Charge transfer resistance of active and inactivated yeast cells was determined using EIS. It was calculated that charge transfer resistance of active yeast cells is 1.5 times lower than that of inactivated yeast cells. Lipophilic vitamin K3 (Vit‐K3) and hydrophilic vitamin K1 (Vit‐K1) were mixtured and used as redox mediators for charge transfer from yeast cells.

Electrochemical determination of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sp using glassy carbon electrodes modified with oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes dispersed in water –Nafion®

“…Posseckardt et al ( Posseckardt et al, 2018 ) developed a methodology for the viability of cell quantification by electrochemical impedance microscopy using platinum screen-printing electrodes (SPE), finding an increment of the measurements in living cells. Valiūnienė et al ( Valiūnienė et al, 2020 ) developed a methodology for differentiating active and inactive cells of S. cerevisiae by electrochemical impedance microscopy. The charge transfer resistance of active cells was 1.5 times lower than inactivated yeast cells.…”

A Microfluidic Dielectric Spectroscopy System for Characterization of Biological Cells in Physiological Media

“…Among these methods, DS is a non-invasive, fast, and promising method for cell screening. DS has been widely used for impedance measurements of yeast cells [10][11][12], breast cancer cells [13], lymphocyte activation profiling [14], monitoring performance of epithelial tissues [15], and hepatology research [16].…”

Evaluating Young's Modulus of Single Yeast Cells Based on Compression Using an Atomic Force Microscope with a Flat Tip

“…The rigid cell wall of yeast results in Young's modulus on the order of millions of Pascals (Pa). It has been reported that the mechanical properties of yeast can be influenced by numerous factors, including genetic modification (Dague et al, 2010; Andriukonis et al, 2018), cell viability (Warnat et al, 2015; Valiūnienė et al, 2020), chemical pretreatment (Suchodolskis et al, 2011; Stirke et al, 2019), and environment conditions (Bui et al, 2008; Ramanavicius et al, 2017). Therefore, measuring the mechanical properties of a single yeast cell can help us understand more about yeast.…”