24 h observation of a single HeLa cell by impedance measurement and numerical modeling

Comparing to conventional examinations, a continuous impedance analysis of single cells provide more detailed electrical characterization information about their pathological condition in a period. In this work, we present the 24-h observations of the electrical characteristics of single HeLa (human cervix adenocarcinoma) cells using impedance measurement and modeling method. A microfluidic device includes three-micropillars structure and measurement electrodes are used to single HeLa cell capture and impedance measurement, respectively. An electrical circuit comprising cytoplasm resistance, cell membrane capacitance, medium resistance, medium capacitance and electrodes resistance is used to obtain the variation on the location, shape and configuration of single HeLa cell. According to experiment and modeling results, cell approached the bottom of the microchannel at 3-5 h. At 5-15 h, the impedance characteristics of the single HeLa cell changed with the cell shape. After 15 h, cell membrane capacitance and cytoplasm resistance decreased due to cell membrane electroporation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.