A study of electrochemical biosensor for analysis of three-dimensional (3D) cell culture

Cell culture has a fundamental role not only in regenerative medicine but also in biotechnology, pharmacology, impacting both drug discovery and manufacturing. Although cell culture has been generally developed for only two-dimensional (2D) culture systems, three-dimensional (3D) culture is being spotlighted as the means to mimic in vivo cellular conditions. In this study, a method for cytotoxicity assay using an electrochemical biosensor applying 3D cell culture is presented. In order to strengthen the advantage of a 3D cell culture, the experimental condition of gelation between several types of sol–gels (alginate, collagen, matrigel) and cancer cells can be optimized to make a 3D cell structure on the electrode, which will show the reproducibility of electrical measurement for long-term monitoring. Moreover, cytotoxicity test results applying this method showed IC50 value of A549 lung cancer cells to erlotinib. Thus, this study evaluates the feasibility of application of the electrochemical biosensor for 3D cell culture to cytotoxicity assay for investigation of 3D cell response to drug compounds.

► Characterization of an electrochemical biosensor for analysis of 3D cell culture.
► Optimization for enhancement of electrical signal effectiveness in 3D cell culture.
► Electrochemical measurement of cell viability according to cell seeding density.
► Drug dose response on the electrochemical biosensor applying 3D cell culture.
► We confirmed the feasibility of application of the electrochemical biosensor for analysis of 3D cell culture to cytotoxicity assay.