Microimpedance tomography system to monitor cell activity and membrane movements in a breathing lung-on-chip

Mermoud, Yves; Felder, Marcel Christian; Stucki, Janick; Stucki, Andreas; Guenat, Olivier Thierry (2018). Microimpedance tomography system to monitor cell activity and membrane movements in a breathing lung-on-chip. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 255(3), pp. 3647-3653. Elsevier 10.1016/j.snb.2017.09.192

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We report about a new microimpedance tomography (MITO) system integrated in a lung-on-chip that recapitulates the thin alveolar barrier including the cyclic mechanical strain of the breathing movements. The system enables to detect changes that take place in the lung alveolar barrier located at 1 mm from the detection system. This leaves space for the three-dimensional deflection of the lung alveolar barrier.
The aim of the MITO is to monitor both the electrochemical and the mechanical changes occurring in the lung alveolar barrier using impedimetric coplanar electrodes. Distant and real-time monitoring of changes in the resistivity of a human lung epithelial cell monolayer challenged with Triton X-100 could easily be detected. An exponential drop of 7% in impedance magnitude was recorded following the permeabilization of the monolayer. While the membrane is deflected to mimic the respiratory movements, the impedance readout can be correlated to the mechanical strain in the alveolar barrier. Small variations of the mechanical strain due to the density of the cell population can be detected. A mechanical strain difference of 0.4% was monitored between epithelial cells just seeded on the alveolar membrane and the resulting confluent layer 24 h later.
The system is produced using a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) bonded to the lung-on-chip device made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). It brings impedance-based cell and organ function monitoring onto organs-on-chips on a single, cost-efficient and integrable layer that does not interfere with the biomimetic capabilities of the chip.

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