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Label-Free Monitoring of Cells in vitro pp 111–134Cite as

Label-Free Monitoring of 3D Tissue Models via Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy

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Part of the book series: Bioanalytical Reviews ((BIOREV,volume 2))

Abstract

There is a strong tendency in in vitro testing of drugs or toxins to use 3D tissue models as biological test objects rather than 2D cell monolayers. The latter have been used with increasing success throughout the last decades even though their limitations were well-known. Two-dimensional cell layers cannot fully mimic the complex architecture of real tissue mainly because cell-cell interactions, cell communication, cell signaling, extracellular matrix composition, and all the physicochemical properties of the microenvironment are quite different. Motivated by these shortcoming, 3D tissue models have been developed over the years capable of overcoming some of the limitations of 2D tissue. However, for successful screening campaigns and toxicology assessment, it is not sufficient to only have an appropriate tissue model, and it also takes analytical techniques to read the biological response to a given exposure to drugs or toxins. It has been notoriously difficult to find experimental approaches that are capable of reporting from the inside of a 3D tissue model without destroying it. Because of its noninvasive nature and the ability of AC currents to permeate through tissue, impedance analysis has emerged as one potential technique to fill this gap. The current chapter will summarize the state of the art in impedance-based monitoring of 3D tissue models with particular focus on electrode design and the constraints that are associated with it.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Geneva Foundation, Rockville, MD, USA

    Frank Alexander Jr.

  2. Technische Universität München, München, Germany

    Sebastian Eggert

  3. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Dorielle Price

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  1. Frank Alexander Jr.
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  2. Sebastian Eggert
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  3. Dorielle Price
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Correspondence to Frank Alexander Jr. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Chemo- and Biosensors, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

    Joachim Wegener

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Alexander, F., Eggert, S., Price, D. (2019). Label-Free Monitoring of 3D Tissue Models via Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy. In: Wegener, J. (eds) Label-Free Monitoring of Cells in vitro. Bioanalytical Reviews, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/11663_2018_5

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