A novel microphysiometer based on high sensitivity LAPS and microfluidic system for cellular metabolism study and rapid drug screening

This study presents a novel microphysiometer for studying the mechanism of cellular metabolism and drug effect. Based on the photocurrent amplification of light-addressable potentiometric sensor (LAPS), the constant voltage detection mode was introduced to enhance the detection sensitivity to replace the conventional constant current mode with the slow feedback rate. The photocurrent amplification of LAPS was improved by developing the sensor structure and fabrication processes. The sensor unit with microfluidic system was designed to detect the concentration change of cellular acidic metabolites in the extracellular microenvironment rapidly. Characteristic test experiments and cellular metabolism experiments were carried out to determine the performance of microphysiometer. The result showed that sensitivity of microphysiometer is significantly enhanced to sense the fluctuation of cellular metabolism rapidly and sensitively in real-time detection of living cells under physiological condition. With these improvements, the novel microphysiometer holds promise as a utility platform for studying cellular metabolism and evaluating drug effect. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.