Cells on IC Chip

Cellular signals are essential for sensing the microenvironment and coordinating physiological functions. Their multimodal nature, encompassing electrophysiological, chemical, mechanical, and optical components, helps define cellular functional states and fate. High-resolution spatiotemporal analysis of these weak, dynamic, and heterogeneous signals is critical for elucidating fundamental life processes, uncovering disease mechanisms, and advancing precision medicine. Recent advances in integrated circuit (IC) technology, particularly the co-integration of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), have enabled unprecedented capabilities for cellular signal analysis, driving a transition from conventional instruments and microfluidic platforms to chip-level cellular analysis. This review summarizes the key technological foundations, multimodal sensing mechanisms, and emerging applications of IC technology for cellular signal analysis. It explores the core principles of high-sensitivity, long-term stable signal acquisition, focusing on bioelectronic interfaces, biocompatible packaging, and low-noise signal processing. It also reviews breakthroughs in microelectrode arrays, field-effect transistors, CMOS image sensors, MEMS sensors, and multi-parameter chemical sensing chips for single-cell and population-level detection. The review highlights applications in drug screening, clinical diagnostics, single-cell analysis, and brain-computer interfaces. Finally, it addresses challenges such as biocompatibility, crosstalk suppression, and energy efficiency, while outlining future directions in material innovation, three-dimensional integration, and brain-inspired computing.