Impedance Measurement for the Monitoring of In Vitro Cells Cultured in the Presence of Electromagnetic Waves

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility of using the impedance measurement method used to monitor morphological changes in culture cells for use in cultures in the presence of an electromagnetic field generated by a mobile phone. For this purpose, we used Electric Cell–Substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS), which is a real-time, label-free, impedance-based method to study cell behaviors in tissue culture. As part of the work, a device enabling the connection in a climatic chamber was prepared without the need to interfere with environmental conditions, and a test culture of mouse fibroblasts was performed. The device based on the Arduino UNO programmable platform worked like a mobile phone. During cell proliferation, it was connected to the device three times and a change in electrical parameters in the measuring system was observed. During the phone call, there was a clear change in the values of the measured parameters. However, analysis of the obtained results indicated that there was little or no effect of the presence of the electromagnetic field on the cell culture, while the observed changes in the values of impedance, resistance, and capacitance are most likely due to the separation of positive and negative medium ions in the electromagnetic field. The application of the presented method seems possible; however, in order to eliminate the separation of ions, a different type of antenna should be designed to emit a homogeneous field to the entire well.

Keywords

• cell culture
• electromagnetic field
• impedance
• ECIS