Automatic transwell assay by an EIS cell chip to monitor cell migration.
Here an EIS (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) biochip to detect cell migration is demonstrated. This biochip has been inspired by a traditional transwell assay/modified Boyden chamber and consists of two compartments separated by a porous membrane. This structure (PDMS-based) is aligned to EIS sensors. Cells are seeded in the upper chamber through microfluidic channels. During migration cells go through the pores of the membrane and get in touch with the electrodes that detect migrated cells. The performance of our cell-chip was tested by investigating the migratory ability of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells as a function of microenvironment. For this purpose we challenged HCC cells to migrate on different extra-cellular matrix (ECM) components including laminin 1, collagen IV and laminin 5. The results reveal that our cell chip provides reliable results that consistently overlap with those obtained with traditional standardized Boyden chambers. Thus, we demonstrate a new, easy tool to study cell migration and to perform automatic assays. This approach is easier and faster than traditional transwell assays and can be suitable for high-throughput studies in drug discovery applications.
NNL CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze, Lecce, Italy. elisabetta.primiceri@unisalento.it
Elisabetta
E
Primiceri
Maria Serena
MS
Chiriacò
Francesca
F
Dioguardi
Anna Grazia
AG
Monteduro
Eliana
E
D'Amone
Ross
R
Rinaldi
Gianluigi
G
Giannelli
Giuseppe
G
Maruccio
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000737:chemistry; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D024141:Collagen Type IV / Q000737:chemistry; D058266:Dielectric Spectroscopy; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007797:Laminin / Q000737:chemistry; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D000097794:Kalinin
D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D024141:Collagen Type IV; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D007797:Laminin; D000097794:Kalinin; C121346:laminin 1; C013830:baysilon