Microfluidic platform to study intercellular connectivity through on-chip electrical impedance measurement

A platform has been developed to study intercellular communication in non-neural cells as it relates to developmental biology and morphogenetic bioengineering. The versatile platform uses laminar flow in a microfluidic channel to create a “sucrose gap” that forces electrical signaling through a cell monolayer. The intercellular communication in the cell network is detected through electrical impedance measurements. A phase sensitive homodyne system has been designed and simulated in a 130nm CMOS process to provide a readout of cell monolayer complex impedance within the device. The system exhibits a highly linear conversion rate of 0.589mV/kΩ for cell layer impedances up to 1 MΩ.

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