High-throughput impedance monitoring in 3D tumor cultures: a multiplex, microfluidic-free platform for drug screening.

Abstract

The development of an effective therapy against glioblastoma (GBM) remains a significant and unmet clinical need. To address this challenge, creating predictive, physiologically relevant screening models is essential for accelerating the identification of promising drug candidates. In this paper, we present a novel impedance-based device where two-photon polymerization-fabricated scaffolds embedding electrodes are colonized by GBM cells, effectively replicating the three-dimensional environment of the microscopic tumor foci that persist following tumor resection and cause recurrence. The results demonstrated that the proposed GBM-on-chip model enables high-throughput, multiplexed, and real-time monitoring of the development of tumor spheroids and their responses to therapeutic agents. Validation studies demonstrated the platform ability to detect subtle cytotoxic effects undetectable by traditional immunofluorescence methods, with optical transparency enabling complementary imaging analysis. This system represents a versatile framework for assessing drug efficacy in complex, physiologically relevant 3D tumor models, paving the way for innovations in cancer pharmacology.