A hierarchical porous structure integrated three-dimensional electrochemical biosensor for cell culture and real-time monitoring

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) porous scaffolds are arousing tremendous interests in tissue engineering, in-vitro biological models and drug discovery for the potential on integration in-vivo 3D culture stimulation and real-time electrochemical sensing. However, the development on this field is still hindered by the lack of basic 3D conductive materials, unsatisfactory electrochemical performance and complicated construction strategy. Herein, we developed a hierarchical porous 3D electrochemical biosensor with facile preparation strategy for cell culture and real-time detection of cell-released molecules. In this biosensor, the micropores and nanopores were concurrently integrated within the Ni foam 3D porous scaffold, through which the fast mass transfer and the large specific surface area can be accomplished. As a proof of concept, the sensing materials, Pt nanoparticles were functionalized on the 3D porous scaffold. The fabricated biosensor presented a wide linear range from 200 nM to 20 μM with a high sensitivity of 423.1 nA/μM toward hydrogen peroxide. More importantly, HeLa cells cultured thereon demonstrated high viability and the cell-released H2O2 were also real-time monitored, illustrating its great application prospects on the in-vivo 3D modeling systems.