Time-Constant-Domain Spectroscopy: An Impedance-Based Method for Sensing Biological Cells in Suspension

Impedance measurement is a common technique to characterize and detect the electrical properties of biological cells. However, to decode the underlying physical processes, it requires complex electrical models alongside prior knowledge of the sample under study. In this work, we introduce an attractive label-free method for sensing biological cells in suspension based on the measurement of electrical impedance and the distribution of relaxation times (DRT) model. The DRT maps impedance data from the frequency-domain to a time-constant-domain spectrum (TCDS) being a useful and robust method for data analysis. We perform impedance measurements in the range from 1 kHz to 1 MHz to obtain the TCDS for sensing mimic samples as well as HeLa cells in suspension. Results show that the TCDS can be seen as an electrical fingerprint for the sample, as it can decode useful information about the composition and structure with high sensitivity and resolution.

Automated summary

Impedance measurement is a common technique used for detecting the electrical properties of biological cells. This study introduces a label-free method for sensing biological cells based on impedance and the DRT model, which maps impedance data to a time-constant-domain spectrum for data analysis, providing a high sensitivity and resolution electrical fingerprint for the sample.