Live cell-based sensor cells.

Biosensors utilizing live cells have attracted a great deal of attention because of their high specificity and sensitivity to their targets. We established cytotoxic sensor cells that were transfected with GFP plasmids derived from HSP70B' and BTG2 promoters. These sensor cells have significant advantages in both speed and sensitivity for the detection of cytotoxicity. We created a live cell-based sensorchip fabricated with microfluidic channels. Fluorescence in the sensor cells increased in a CdCl(2) dose-dependent manner in the microfluidic channels. With this system, cytotoxic reagents can be quantitatively detected in a quick, sensitive, and high-throughput manner. The combination of sensor cells and microfluidic systems will provide an important basis for the development of mu-TAS technology that can be applied to numerous fields such as biomaterials, nanotoxicology, environmental assessment, and drug screening. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.