Label-free electronic detection of growth factor induced cellular chatter on chemoreceptive neuron MOS (CvMOS) transistors

In this paper we present a novel label-free detection scheme to sense growth factor over-expression in tumor cells at the single cell level using a chemoreceptive neuron MOSFET (CvMOS). Tumor cell lines including A431, HeLa, TSE and NIH-3T3´s were dispensed onto poly-Llysine-coated sensing gates with a limited dilution and their responses to EGF (epidermal growth factor) were recorded. A change in cell shape after stimulation is observed and is validated through SEM images on witness samples. Stimulation of downstream pathways upon EGF activation is detected through an abrupt change in threshold voltage and subthreshold slope indicating cell effects from both charge exchange and capacitance.