Label-free technology and patient cells: from early drug development to precision medicine

Drug development requires physiologically more appropriate model systems and assays to increase understanding of drug action and pathological processes in individual humans. Specifically, patient-derived cells offer great opportunities as representative cellular model systems. Moreover, with novel label-free cellular assays, it is often possible to investigate complex biological processes in their native environment. Combining these two offers distinct opportunities for increasing physiological relevance. Here, we review impedance-based label-free technologies in the context of patient samples, focusing on commonly used cell types, including fibroblasts, blood components, and stem cells. Applications extend as far as tissue-on-a-chip models. Thus, applying label-free technologies to patient samples can produce highly biorelevant data and, with them, unique opportunities for drug development and precision medicine.