Caserta Sergio, Barra Mario, Manganelli Genesia, Tomaiuolo Giovanna, Filosa Stefania, Cassinese Antonio, Guido Stefano
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica dei Materiali e della Produzione Industriale (DICMAPI), Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Naples,
Int J Artif Organs. 2013 Jun 25;36(6):426-33. doi: 10.5301/ijao.5000214. Epub 2013 May 8.
Electrically active supports provide new horizons for bio-sensing and artificial organ design. Cell-based electrochemical biosensors can be used as bio-microactuators, applied to the biorobotics. Microchip-based bioassay systems can provide real-time cell analysis for preclinical drug design or for intelligent drug delivery devices. In regenerative medicine, electrically active supports can be used as bio-reactors to monitor cell activity, optimize the stem cell differentiation and control cell and tissue morphology. Biocompatibility and direct interaction of the electrically active surface with the cell surface is a critical aspect of this technology.
In this work embryonic stem cells (AK7 ES) have been cultivated on the surface of thin films achieved through the evaporation of two aromatic compounds (T6 and PDI-8CN2 ) of particular interest for the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFET). One of the potential advantages offered by the application of OFETs as bio-electronic supports is that they represent a powerful tool for the detection of bio-signals because their electrically active surface is an organic film.
The cell morphology on T6 and PDI-8CN2 surface shows to be similar to the usual cell appearance, as obtained when standard culture support (petri dish) are employed. Moreover, our experimental results demonstrate that stem cells can be lead to differentiation up to "beating" cardiomyocytes even on these electrically-active organic films.
This investigation encourages the perspective to develop OFET-based biosensors in order to accurately characterize stem cells during the cardiac differentiation process and eventually increase their differentiation efficiency.
电活性载体为生物传感和人工器官设计提供了新的视野。基于细胞的电化学生物传感器可作为生物微致动器，应用于生物机器人技术。基于微芯片的生物检测系统可为临床前药物设计或智能给药装置提供实时细胞分析。在再生医学中，电活性载体可作为生物反应器来监测细胞活性、优化干细胞分化并控制细胞和组织形态。电活性表面与细胞表面的生物相容性和直接相互作用是该技术的关键方面。
在这项工作中，胚胎干细胞（AK7 ES）已培养在通过蒸发两种对制造有机场效应晶体管（OFET）特别感兴趣的芳香族化合物（T6和PDI - 8CN2）所获得的薄膜表面上。将OFET用作生物电子载体所提供的潜在优势之一是，它们是检测生物信号的有力工具，因为其电活性表面是有机薄膜。
T6和PDI - 8CN2表面上的细胞形态显示与使用标准培养载体（培养皿）时获得的通常细胞外观相似。此外，我们的实验结果表明，即使在这些电活性有机薄膜上，干细胞也可被诱导分化为“跳动”的心肌细胞。
这项研究鼓励了开发基于OFET的生物传感器的前景，以便在心脏分化过程中准确表征干细胞并最终提高其分化效率。
