Detecting the effect of targeted anti-cancer medicines on single cancer cells using a poly-silicon wire ion sensor integrated with a confined sensitive window

Abstract

A mold-cast polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) confined window was integrated with a poly-silicon wire (PSW) ion sensor. The PSWsensor surface inside the confined window was coated with a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APTES) sensitive layer which allowed a single living cell to be cultivated. The change in the microenvironment due to the extracellular acidification of the single cell could then be determined by measuring the current flowing through the PSW channel. Based on this, the PSW sensor integrated with a confined sensitive window was used to detect the apoptosis as well as the effect of anti-cancer medicines on the single living non-small-lung-cancer (NSLC) cells including lung adenocarcinoma cancer cells A549 and H1299, and lung squamous-cell carcinoma CH27 cultivated inside the confined window. Single human normal cells including lung fibroblast cells WI38, lung fibroblast cells MRC5, and bronchial epithelium cell Beas-2B were tested for comparison. Two targeted anti-NSCLC cancer medicines, Iressa and Staurosporine, were used in the present study. It was found that the PSW sensor can be used to accurately detect the apoptosis of single cancer cells after the anti-cancer medicines were added. It was also found that Staurosporine is more effective than Iressa in activating the apoptosis of cancer cells. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.