Electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing is increasingly being used for label-free and real-time monitoring of changes in cell morphology and number during cell growth, drug screening, and differentiation. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of using ECIS to monitor C2C12 myoblast differentiation using a fabricated indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode-based chip. C2C12 myoblast differentiation on the ITO electrode was validated based on decreases in the mRNA level of MyoD and increases in the mRNA levels of myogenin and myosin heavy chain (MHC). Additionally, MHC expression and morphological changes in myoblasts differentiated on the ITO electrode were comparable to those in cells in the control culture dish. From the monitoring the integration of the resistance change at 21.5 kHz, the cell differentiation was label-free and real-time detectable in 30 h of differentiation (p < 0.05).
Keywords: C2C12 cells; electric cell-substrate impedance sensing; label-free; myoblast differentiation; real-time.