Carbon nanotube/poly-L-lysine hybrid-modified electrode as efficient platform for cell immobilization and electrochemical study

Abstract

A facile and efficient electrochemical platform based on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-poly-L-lysine (PLL) hybrids was prepared for studying on the immobilization and in vitro electrochemical behavior of cells. The PLL/MWCNT hybrids form a reticulate structure on the electrode surface, which provides a biocompatible and efficient microenvironment for cell immobilization. In contrast to the cells/glass carbon (GC) electrode, the cells/PLL/MWCNT hybrid-modified GC electrode exhibits a negatively shifted peak potential and a greatly enhanced peak current, indicating better electrochemical property of the PLL/MWCNT for evaluating the electrochemical behavior of cells. The effect of anticancer drug (adriamycin, ADR) treatment on the electrochemical signal of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells was evaluated. The ADR treatment leads to obviously decrease of the cell voltammetric response, being well accordant with the results obtained from conventional in vitro cytotoxicity assay. The proposed method may provide a simple way to quantitatively study the in vitro cell viability and cytotoxicity of ADR or other anticancer drugs.