2010 Articles

Surface-Patterned Electrode Bioreactor for Electrical Stimulation

Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana; Tandon, Nina; Marsano, Anna; Maidhof, Robert; Numata, Keiji; Montouri-Sorrentino, Chrystina; Cannizzaro, Christopher; Voldman, Joel

We present a microscale cell culture system with an interdigitated microarray of excimer-laser-ablated indium tin oxide electrodes for electrical stimulation of cultured cells. The system has been characterized in a range of geometeries and stimulation regimes via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and used to culture primary cardiomyocytes and human adipose derived stem cells. Over 6 days of culture with electrical stimulation (2 ms duration, 1 Hz, 180 μm wide electrodes with 200 μm spacing), both cell types exhibited enhanced proliferation, elongation and alignment, and adipose derived stem cells exhibited higher numbers of Connexin-43-composed gap junctions.