Monitoring fibroblast behavior in tissue culture with an applied electric field.

Mammalian fibroblasts have been cultured on evaporated gold electrodes subjected to an alternating electric field at 4000 Hz. The system consists of a large (approximately equal to 2 cm2) and a small (approximately equal to 3 X 10(-4) cm2) electrode bathed in tissue culture medium. The applied electric field produces a voltage drop at the boundary between the solution and the small electrode of a few mV at a current density of a few mA/cm2. The small population of cells that attach and spread on this electrode have a marked effect on the measured impedance and also cause it to fluctuate with time. The amplitude of these fluctuations is greatly reduced by cytochalasin B (10 microM), suggesting they are a consequence of cell movement.