MITO · Scalable real-time monitoring of 3D cell cultures with electrical impedance microtomography

High-throughput functional drug testing on patient-derived 3D cell cultures offers unprecedented opportunities for personalized cancer medicine. Optical microscopy constitutes a bottleneck in this approach as it cannot provide rapid information on cell and tissue viability and is not compatible with upscaling. To address this issue, I focus my research project on local electrical impedance spectroscopy to enable the real-time and label-free monitoring of large arrays of 3D cell cultures. The vision is to combine integrated arrays of microstructured organic mixed ionic-electronic conductor devices with multifunctional 3D micropatterned polymeric layers to achieve two specific objectives: i) focus the ionic currents onto the 3D space where cell aggregates are formed, ii) provide the biological cues for cell assembly and development into 3D functional structures. The rapid acquisition of the electrical impedance matrix resolved in frequency space combined with impedance modelling will provide real-time tomographic information about 3D cell organization, inter-cellular junctions and cellular functionality. As a test case demonstrating high-throughput 3D cell culture experiments, final prototypes will implement 3D tumour models to test cellular therapies suppressing cancer growth. The envisioned technology will constitute a novel platform for the accelerated development of personalized medicines without relying on animal testing. The strong interdisciplinary approach adopted by MITO leverages the high-level expertise of the University of Bologna (12-months return phase, supervisor Prof. Tobias Cramer, expert in materials for bioelectronics) and ETH Zurich (24-months outgoing phase, supervisor Prof. Andreas Hierlemann, expert in electrical engineering and cell cultures). Throughout the entire action, I will receive excellent training to enhance my scientific, communication, dissemination, and technology transfer skills, significantly advancing my future academic career.