A tubular electrical impedance tomograph (EIT) with micrometric dimensions was fabricated by using rolledup nanotechnology. This approach gives access to EIT devices with tunable sizes in the sub-100 µm range. EIT images of silicon dioxide microparticles were obtained as proof of principle. These devices could enable the impedimetric analysis of biological micro-scale objects, such as single cells or small cell clusters.
In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the analysis of single cells. Single-cell studies give valuable insights in the variability of biological cells in one and the same cell population, and can give new information about their fundamental properties.[1] Impedance measurements are especially well-suited for these analyses, as they are labelfree and non-destructive. Tomographic measurements in particular are of interest since they can additionally provide spatial information in real time. EIT studies of single cells call for appropriate measurement chambers, whose sizes should be similar to that of the object to be studied. This can easily be achieved using rolled-up nanotechnology.
Electrical impedance tomography in on-chip integrated microtubular fluidic channels
