Acoustical sensing of cardiomyocyte cluster beating

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research
• Cellular Biophysics

Background:

• Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte clusters (CMCs) are vital for in vitro cardiac studies and drug safety testing.
• Current monitoring methods often require specialized equipment, trained personnel, and significant cell numbers.
• There is a need for real-time, label-free monitoring techniques suitable for small cell quantities and complex structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential of Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) for detecting and analyzing the spontaneous beating of CMCs.
• To establish QCM-D as a label-free, acoustic assay for evaluating cardiomyocyte function and cardiotoxicity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized QCM-D, an acoustic surface-sensitive technique measuring mass and viscoelastic changes.
• Applied QCM-D to monitor spontaneously beating human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte clusters (CMCs).
• Correlated QCM-D signals (frequency and dissipation) with simultaneous light microscopy observations.

Main Results:

• Spontaneous CMC beating was clearly detected by QCM-D through changes in frequency and dissipation signals.
• Detected beating rates ranged from 66 to 168 beats per minute, consistent with microscopy.
• The QCM-D beating profile generated unique fingerprints for individual CMC samples.

Conclusions:

• QCM-D can effectively detect and characterize the beating of CMCs in a label-free manner.
• The technique provides real-time monitoring of cardiomyocyte activity, suitable for small cell quantities.
• QCM-D shows promise as an acoustic assay for cardiotoxicity evaluation and drug safety screening.