Label-Free Detection of Senescence-Like State in Human Dermal Fibroblasts via Frequency-Modulated Dielectrophoresis

Abstract

Cellular senescence plays a key role in aging and age-related diseases. However, current detection methods often rely on biochemical markers that are invasive or lack temporal resolution. In this study, we present a label-free, electrical method using frequency-modulated dielectrophoresis (FM-DEP) to identify a senescence-like state in human dermal fibroblasts (TIG-1). We observed that cells exhibiting senescence-associated morphological and functional features displayed altered dielectric properties, particularly in their crossover frequency (COF) profiles. These findings suggest that FM-DEP can differentiate between proliferative and senescence-like phenotypes based on membrane polarization dynamics. While promising, our conclusions are currently limited to TIG-1 fibroblasts. Further studies using diverse cell types and additional senescence markers are needed to assess the broader applicability of this method.