Cell proliferation monitoring by multiplexed electrochemical impedance spectroscopy on microwell assays

Abstract

Cell proliferation can be monitored by a wide range of well-established techniques. Most of the principles used rely on optical, single end-point methods, often involving the use of absorbent, fluorescent or luminescent compounds. These additives can interfere with the cell growth, thus producing distorted results. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy provides a solution for this problem and enables continuous monitoring without interference. However equipment for this measurement technique is often bulky, highly expensive and lacks multichannel features. This paper presents a low-cost, compact hardware platform optimized for proliferation measurements, together with custom software to ease interpretation and physical modelling of data. Performance is demonstrated and measurement parameters are fine-tuned for three commonly used cell types in proliferation measurements.