Characterization of the Impact of Classical Cell-culture Media on the Response of Electrochemical Sensors

Biocompatibility testing is usually performed through staining and imaging of cell lines. We propose here to monitor cytotoxicity through real-time measurement of metabolites specifically issued from cell stress behaviour using a multiparametric electrochemical (bio)sensing platform. However, the composition of culture media varies widely according to the requirements of the utilized cell lines. This matter may have significant effects on the sensor's sensitivity. With this mind, the sensitivity of four electrochemical (bio)sensors (pH, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide/nitrite (NO and its by-product) and lactate) is investigated in different cell culture media. The main culture media studied were Minimum Essential Medium Eagle (MEM), Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), Williams ' Medium E and RPMI 1640 medium that were the recommended culture media for the cell types to be monitored. This work shows the impact of the different cell culture media on the performances of the different sensors (limit of detection, sensitivity, selectivity, response time and dynamic range). More particularly, FBS strongly impacts the response of the amperometric (bio)sensors. Then, cellular viability testing was effected within optimized medium (FBS content) for electrochemical sensor read-outs in the case of short-term cultures (one day) devoted to cytotoxicity testing. Real-time electrochemical monitoring provides important additional information about cell behaviour during biocompatibility testing that might be further implemented in different settings including pharmaceutical efficacy and biomaterials applications.

Automated summary

We propose a method to monitor cytotoxicity by measuring metabolites in real-time. The sensitivity of electrochemical sensors in different cell culture media is investigated, and it is found that the response of the sensors is significantly affected by FBS.