A Stretchable Electrochemical Sensor for Inducing and Monitoring Cell Mechanotransduction in Real Time

Existing methods offer little direct and real-time information about stretch-triggered biochemical responses during cell mechanotransduction. A novel stretchable electrochemical sensor is reported that takes advantage of a hierarchical percolation network of carbon nanotubes and gold nanotubes (CNT-AuNT). This hybrid nanostructure provides the sensor with excellent time-reproducible mechanical and electrochemical performances while granting very good cellular compatibility, making it perfectly apt to induce and monitor simultaneously transient biochemical signals. This is validated by monitoring stretch-induced transient release of small signaling molecules by both endothelial and epithelial cells cultured on this sensor and submitted to stretching strains of different intensities. This work demonstrates that the hybrid CNT-AuNT platform offers a versatile and highly sensitive way to characterize and quantify short-time mechanotransduction responses.