Electrical impedance spectroscopy of gel embedded neuronal cells based on a novel impedimetric biosensor

In this contribution we focus on the on-line analysis of neuronal cells embedded in gel matrices by means of variations in their dielectric and conductive properties. For impedance measurement of thin gel films in flow-through regime a novel impedimetric biosensor was developed. A technique for the preparation of gels containing Neuro-2a neuroblastoma cells (N2a) in between the measurement electrodes was set up. Impedance spectra of gels with N2a cells were analyzed and cell viability was tested. Experimental results showed that even at frequencies (>>1 MHz) and a gel concentration of 2 % with ~8300 cells/μL conductive properties dominate the spectrum.