In vitro cyto-biocompatibility study of thin-film transistors substrates using an organotypic culture method

Thin-Film-Transistors Liquid-Crystal Display has become a standard in the field of displays. However, the structure of these devices presents interest not only in that field, but also for biomedical applications. One of the key components, called here TFT substrate, is a glass substrate with a dense and large array of thousands of transparent micro-electrodes that can be considered as a large scale multi-electrode array(s). Multi-electrode array(s) are widely used for in vitro electrical investigations on neurons and brain, allowing excitation, registration, and recording of their activity. However, the range of application of conventional multi-electrode array(s) is usually limited to some tens of cells in a homogeneous cell culture, because of a small area, small number and a low density of the micro-electrodes. TFT substrates do not have these limitations and the authors are currently studying the possibility to use TFT substrates as new tools for in vitro electrical investigation on tissues and organoids. In this respect, experiments to determine the cyto-biocompatibility of TFT substrates with tissues were conducted and are presented in this study. The investigation was performed using an organotypic culture method with explants of brain and liver tissues of chick embryos. The results in term of morphology, cell migration, cell density and adhesion were compared with the results from Thermanox (R), a conventional plastic for cell culture, and with polydimethylsiloxane, a hydrophobic silicone. The results with TFT substrates showed similar results as for the Thermanox (R), despite the TFT hydrophobicity. TFT substrates have a weak cell adhesion and promote cell migration similarly to Thermanox (R). It could be concluded that the TFT substrates are cyto-biocompatible with the two studied organs.