title: Parylene-C-Coated indium tin oxide electrodes for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of cells.
abstract: The demand for the label-free and real-time monitoring of biological cells for the diagnosis of diseases and the discovery of new drugs is increasing. The electrical-impedance characterization of cells has been used to quantify in real time the behaviours of biological cells adhered on the gold or platinum microelectrodes. In this article, a parylene-C-coated indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, which has better transparency than the conventional electrodes, and high biocompatibility, was investigated for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of the cell growth. The living cells on the fabricated parylene-C-coated ITO electrode were observed via phase contrast microscopy, which produces high-contrast images of the transparent cells without staining. The electrical properties of the cellular parameters were extrapolated through fitting analysis with the designed equivalent circuit to the measured impedance spectra of the cell-covered electrode. From the experimental results, it was proven that the fabricated parylene-C-coated ITO electrode is feasible for the optical- and electrical-impedance characterization of cell growth.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechatronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 500-712, South Korea.
authors.forename: Sohee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sungbo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry*; D003217:Conductometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004566:Electrodes; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D019073:HT29 Cells; D006801:Humans; D010992:Plethysmography, Impedance / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017971:Tin Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D014992:Xylenes / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D011108:Polymers; D017971:Tin Compounds; D014992:Xylenes; C011055:parylene; C109984:indium tin oxide