Charalampos Pitsalidis1,2
Khalifa University of Science and Technology1,University of Cambridge2
Charalampos Pitsalidis1,2
Khalifa University of Science and Technology1,University of Cambridge2
Our current understanding of the growth, function and homeostasis of cells and tissues <i>in vitro,</i> mainly arises from two-dimensional (2D) cell-based assays, which involve the use of cell monolayers cultured on flat and rigid substrates. While such assays have been applied for both fundamental research and toxicology screening, they do not recapitulate the complex three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment found <i>in vivo.</i> To overcome these constraints, efforts have been shifted towards improved <i>in vitro</i> systems, termed as 3D cell culture models, which can mimic the physiological conditions of <i>in vivo </i>systems by facilitating the phenotypic and functional characteristics of their living tissue counterparts. Despite the great progress in the development of such cell architectures, methods and protocols for in situ functional evaluation of the 3D tissue in a label-free manner are still lacking.Following this rationale we herein demonstrate a novel bioelectronic transmembrane platform, compatible with conventional well plate formats and capable to support complex 3D cell architectures. In particular, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) based scaffolds have been engineered to function both as separator membranes for compartmentalized cell cultures, as well as electronic elements for real time and in situ recording of cell growth and function. Intrinsic limitations arising from the 3D dimensionality of the porous structures are addressed by tailoring the morphological characteristics of the scaffold transmembrane. Impedance spectroscopy measurements carried out throughout the cell culture speriod, allowed us to identify signatures from different cell types, assessing cell growth and extracting barrier function parameters. We believe that this platform has the potential to become a universal tool for biologists, laying foundation for the next generation high-throughput drug screening assays.