Real-Time Monitoring of Changes in Cardiac Contractility Using Silicon Cantilever Arrays Integrated with Strain Sensors

This paper proposes the use of sensor-integrated silicon cantilever arrays to measure drug-induced cardiac toxicity in real time. The proposed cantilever sensors, unlike the conventional electrophysiological methods, aim to evaluate cardiac toxicity by measuring the contraction force of the cardiomyocytes corresponding to the target drugs. The surface of the silicon cantilever consists of microgrooves to maximize the alignment and the contraction force of the cardiomyocytes. This type of surface pattern also helps in the maturation of the cardiomyocytes by increasing the sarcomere length. The preliminary characterization of the cantilever sensors was performed on the cantilever surface, with the cardiomyocytes seeded with a density of 1000 cells/mm(2), and the cardiac contractility was measured as a function of the culture days. The change in the contraction force of the cardiomyocytes due to the drug concentration was successfully measured through the integrated strain sensor in the culture media. The reliability of the sensor-integrated cantilevers and the feasibility of their mass production ensure that they meet the practical requirements in the medical applications.

Automated summary

This paper proposes the use of sensor-integrated silicon cantilever arrays to measure drug-induced cardiac toxicity in real time. The proposed cantilever sensors aim to evaluate cardiac toxicity by measuring the contraction force of cardiomyocytes corresponding to target drugs, using microgrooves on the cantilever surface to maximize alignment and contraction force. The preliminary characterization of these cantilever sensors showed successful measurement of changes in cardiomyocyte contraction force due to drug concentration, ensuring their reliability and feasibility for medical applications.