Design and creation of nanostructured microelectrodes to study cell adhesion processes

VICTORIA GUGLIELMOTTI; DIEGO PALLAROLA

Conferencia; #LatinXChem Twitter Conference; 2020

There is a great demand for non-invasive tools, of quick response, and high precision for the diagnosis of diseases. The methods used for the diagnosis of malignant cancers have shown limitations such as low sensitivity/specificity, long test times, invasive procedures, and expensive equipment. In this context, the immense potential of biosensors in terms of simplicity of operation, greater sensitivity, capacity for inclusion in integrated systems and low cost, makes them a very attractive option for their implementation in the field of medical diagnosis. Devices based on the measurement of electrochemical impedance have shown great potential for the study of cell adhesion. Among its advantage it stands out it is possible to monitor changes in a label-free, instantaneous and non-destructive manner. However, most of the sensors developed in this field are limited to the use of surfaces with a non-homogeneous distribution of ligands on a molecular scale. The main disadvantage of these approaches is that the cellular response can only be investigated based on the average surface concentration of the adhesive ligands. This makes them unsuitable to measure on the scale of length at which cell adhesion events occur. Our approach is based on the development of nanostructured microelectrodes capable of imitating different properties of the cellular environment to be used in biomedical applications and diagnostic devices. Monitoring adhesive interactions in real time is of vital importance to study the effect of different chemical and physical stimuli on cellular behavior. Cells can perceive and respond to external features of their environment on the nanometer scale with remarkable sensitivity. Electrodes with a geometrically controlled positioning of nanoparticles provide a homogeneous distribution of adhesive ligands and allow the study of cellular adhesion events at the nanoscale. On the other hand, the cellular behavior strongly depends on the rigidity of the substrate, therefore, it is essential to develop electrodes of variable rigidity. Results corresponding to the design and physicochemical characterization of nanostructured microelectrodes are presented.