Molecular electrochemical switching element based on diffusive molecular competition for multipoint electrochemical detection of respiration activity of cell aggregates

Electrochemical techniques have been widely utilized for evaluation of oxygen consumption of cells. For high throughput cell analysis and imaging, several electrode-array devices have been developed. However, it is difficult to incorporate many sensors into a small area using a simple arrangement. In the present study, we developed a novel molecular electrochemical switching element for the incorporation of many sensors for detection of oxygen consumption of cells. The switching element is based on the competition of molecular consumption at an electrode pair. The switching elements are incorporated into an electrochemical imaging device, so that n² electrochemical sensors are prepared with only 2n connector pads. The device was then applied to evaluate the respiratory activity of cell aggregates. The detection system is a useful tool for the electrochemical imaging of cell respiratory activity without any damage to samples.