Optical waveguide-based biosensor for label-freeudmonitoring of living cells

摘要

Here, we briefly discuss the past, present, and possible future of label-free opticaludbiosensors in cell research, especially focusing on the kinetic monitoring of cellularudadhesion. Currently available optical biosensors possess outstanding potentials stilludnot rightfully recognized and still waiting to be fully exploited in the field of celludscience. Thus, during the description we give special emphasis to the advantagesudthat the state-of-the-art optical cell-based biosensors possess as compared toudmicroscope- or force measurement-based techniques widely used to characterizeudcell adhesion. To name here only a few, they enable label-free detection close to audplanar sensor surface, have high sensitivity, and generate superior quality kineticuddata. Such information-rich kinetic data, in turn, can be analyzed in-depth andudcomparatively. To exemplify the importance of in-depth kinetic analysis, weudreview a recent study, in which the Epic BenchTop high-throughput optical biosensorudwas used to measure the dependence of cancer cell adhesion kinetics on theudsurface density of integrin ligands. Based on the kinetic data, a model enabling theudlabel-free determination of the dissociation constant of the adhesion ligands boundudto their native cell membrane receptors has been constructed. As an outlook, theudperspectives of the technology is briefly discussed.