A microfluidic device that is able to perform dielectric spectroscopy is developed. The device consists of a measurement chamber that is 250 μm thick and 750 μm in radius. Around 1000 cells fit inside the chamber assuming average quantities for cell radius and volume fraction. This number is about 1000 folds lower than the capacity of conventional fixtures. A T-cell leukemia cell line Jurkat is tested using the microfluidic device. Measurements of deionized water and salt solutions are utilized to determine parasitic effects and geometric capacitance of the device. Physical models, including Maxwell-Wagner mixture and double shell models, are used to derive quantities for sub-cellular units. Clausius-Mossotti factor of Jurkat cells is extracted from the impedance spectrum. Effects of cellular heterogeneity are discussed and parameterized. Jurkat cells are also tested with a time domain reflectometry system for verification of the microfluidic device. Results indicate good agreement of values obtained with both techniques. The device can be used as a unique cell diagnostic tool to yield information on sub-cellular units.

Nanoparticle research is often performed in vitro with little emphasis on the potential role of cell culture medium. In this study, gold nanoparticle interactions with cell culture medium and two cancer cell lines (human T-cell leukemia Jurkat and human pancreatic carcinoma PANC1) were investigated. Gold nanoparticles of 10, 25, 50, and 100 nm in diameter at fixed mass concentration were tested. Size distributions and zeta potentials of gold nanoparticles suspended in deionized (DI) water and Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Media (DMEM) supplemented with fetal calf serum (FCS) were measured using dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. In DI water, particle size distributions exhibited peaks around their nominal diameters. However, the gold nanoparticles suspended in DMEM supplemented with FCS formed complexes around 100 nm, regardless of their nominal sizes. The DLS and UV-vis spectroscopy results indicate gold nanoparticle agglomeration in DMEM that is not supplemented by FCS. The zeta potential results indicate that protein rich FCS increases the dispersion quality of gold nanoparticle suspensions through steric effects. Cellular uptake of 25 and 50 nm gold nanoparticles by Jurkat and PANC1 cell lines were investigated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy. The intracellular gold level of PANC1 cells was higher than that of Jurkat cells, where 50 nm particles enter cells at faster rates than the 25 nm particles.

Electrode polarization at the electrolyte/electrode interface is often undesirable for bio-sensing applications, where charge accumulated over an electrode at constant potential causes large potential drop at the interface and low measurement sensitivity. In this study, novel rough electrodes were developed for decreasing electrical impedance at the interface. The electrodes were fabricated using electrochemical deposition of gold and sintering of gold nanoparticles. The performances of the gold electrodes were compared with platinum black electrodes. A constant phase element model was used to describe the interfacial impedance. Hundred folds of decrease in interfacial impedance were observed for fractal gold electrodes and platinum black. Biotoxicity, contact angle, and surface morphology of the electrodes were investigated. Relatively low toxicity and hydrophilic nature of the fractal and granulated gold electrodes make them suitable for bioimpedance and cell electromanipulation studies compared to platinum black electrodes which are both hydrophobic and toxic.

Dielectric spectroscopy (DS) is a non-invasive, label-free, fast, and promising technique for measuring dielectric properties of biological cells in real time. We demonstrate a microchip that consists of electro-activated micro-well arrays for positive dielectrophoresis (pDEP) assisted cell capture, DS measurements, and negative dielectrophoresis (nDEP) driven cell unloading; thus, providing a high throughput cell analysis platform. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first microfluidic chip that combines electro-activated micro-wells and DS to analyze biological cells. Device performance is tested using Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (yeast) cells. DEP response of yeast cells is determined by measuring their Clausius-Mossotti (CM) factor using biophysical models in parallel plate micro-electrode geometry. This information is used to determine the excitation frequency to load and unload wells. Effect of yeast cells on the measured impedance spectrum was examined both experimentally and numerically. Good match between the numerical and experimental results establishes the potential use of the micro-chip device for extracting sub-cellular properties of biological cells in a rapid and non-expensive manner.

Background Chondrocytes respond to biomechanical and bioelectrochemical stimuli by secreting appropriate extracellular matrix proteins that enables the tissue to withstand the large forces it experiences. Although biomechanical aspects of cartilage are well described, little is known of the bioelectrochemical responses. The focus of this study is to identify bioelectrical characteristics of human costal cartilage cells using dielectric spectroscopy. Methods Dielectric spectroscopy allows non-invasive probing of biological cells. An in house computer program is developed to extract dielectric properties of human costal cartilage cells from raw cell suspension impedance data measured by a microfluidic device. The dielectric properties of chondrocytes are compared with other cell types in order to comparatively assess the electrical nature of chondrocytes. Results The results suggest that electrical cell membrane characteristics of chondrocyte cells are close to cardiomyoblast cells, cells known to possess an array of active ion channels. The blocking effect of the non-specific ion channel blocker gadolinium is tested on chondrocytes with a significant reduction in both membrane capacitance and conductance. Conclusions We have utilized a microfluidic chamber to mimic biomechanical events through changes in bioelectrochemistry and described the dielectric properties of chondrocytes to be closer to cells derived from electrically excitably tissues General significance and interest The studydescribes dielectric characterization of human costal chondrocyte cells using physical tools, where results and methodology can be used to identify potential anomalies in bioelectrochemical responses that may lead to cartilage disorders.