Cell-transistor hybrid systems and their potential applications.

Electrogenic cells fire spontaneous or triggered action potentials (transient changes of their membrane potentials) and can be electronically coupled to external electrodes (arrays). Signals from rat heart-muscle cells were recorded by a field-effect transistor and the results described on the basis of an equivalent circuit. This technique has potential applications in drug screening, such as measuring the dose-response curve of isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic agonist with a positive chronotropic effect.