Electrical cell impedance spectral mesoscopic model applied to experimental data of variable size microelectrodes
Ana C Buchini Labayen1, Mariela I Bellotti1, Walter Bast2
1Laboratorio de Cavitación y Biotecnología, Instituto Balseiro, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo/Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro AGP8402, Argentina.
Physical Review. E
|May 20, 2022
Summary
A new mesoscopic model accurately predicts cell behavior using electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) across various microelectrode sizes. This model overcomes limitations of existing ECIS models, improving cell property analysis.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) is widely used to study cell behavior.
- Existing ECIS models, like the Giaever-Keese (GK) and mean field (MF) models, have limitations in accurately predicting cellular properties across different microelectrode sizes.
- Cellular properties should ideally be independent of the measurement tool's dimensions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a new analytical model for ECIS that accounts for microelectrode size.
- To assess the accuracy of existing ECIS models (GK and MF) with varying microelectrode radii.
- To introduce a mesoscopic model that integrates cell and microelectrode dimensions for improved impedance analysis.
Main Methods:
- Application of the electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) technique.
- Culturing Madin-Darby canine kidney type II cells on microelectrodes of varying radii.
- Fitting experimental data to the Giaever-Keese (GK) and mean field (MF) models.
- Development and validation of a novel mesoscopic analytical model.
Main Results:
- The standard GK model produced results discrepant with experimental data for smaller microelectrodes.
- The MF model showed dependence on microelectrode radius, not ideal for invariant cell property determination.
- The newly introduced mesoscopic model demonstrated excellent agreement with experimental impedance data across different microelectrode sizes.
- The mesoscopic model successfully reduces to the MF and GK models under specific limiting conditions (insulator size).
Conclusions:
- The mesoscopic model provides a more accurate and versatile framework for ECIS analysis compared to existing models.
- This new model enhances the reliability of inferring intrinsic cellular properties from ECIS measurements, irrespective of microelectrode dimensions.
- The mesoscopic model offers a significant advancement in understanding cell-substrate interactions through impedance sensing.
