Measurement of Rapid Amiloride-Dependent pH Changes at the Cell Surface Using a Proton-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistor

Control of interface functions in solid-state biosensors for stable detection of molecular recognition

Significant progress has been achieved in the field of solid-state biosensors over the past 50 years. Various sensing devices with high-density integration and flexible configuration, as well as new applications for clinical diagnosis and healthcare, have been developed using blood, serum, and other body fluids such as sweat, tears, and saliva. A high-density array of ion-sensitive field effect transistors was developed by exploiting the advantages of advanced semiconductor technologies and commercialized in combination with an enzymatic primer extension reaction as a DNA sequencer in 2011. Different types of materials such as inorganic materials, metals, polymers, and biomolecules are mixed together on the surface of the gate while maintaining their own functions; therefore, compatibility among different materials has to be optimized so that the best detection performance of solid-state biosensors, including stability and reliability, is achieved as designed. Solid-state biosensors are suitable for the rapid, cost-effective, and noninvasive identification of biomarkers at various timepoints over the course of a disease.

Electronic Sensing Platform (ESP) Based on Open-Gate Junction Field-Effect Transistor (OG-JFET) for Life Science Applications: Design, Modeling and Experimental Results

This paper presents a new field-effect sensor called open-gate junction gate field-effect transistor (OG-JFET) for biosensing applications. The OG-JFET consists of a p-type channel on top of an n-type layer in which the p-type serves as the sensing conductive layer between two ohmic contacted sources and drain electrodes. The structure is novel as it is based on a junction field-effect transistor with a subtle difference in that the top gate (n-type contact) has been removed to open the space for introducing the biomaterial and solution. The channel can be controlled through a back gate, enabling the sensor's operation without a bulky electrode inside the solution. In this research, in order to demonstrate the sensor's functionality for chemical and biosensing, we tested OG-JFET with varying pH solutions, cell adhesion (human oral neutrophils), human exhalation, and DNA molecules. Moreover, the sensor was simulated with COMSOL Multiphysics to gain insight into the sensor operation and its ion-sensitive capability. The complete simulation procedures and the physics of pH modeling is presented here, being numerically solved in COMSOL Multiphysics software. The outcome of the current study puts forward OG-JFET as a new platform for biosensing applications.

Chemically Induced pH Perturbations for Analyzing Biological Barriers Using Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistors

Potentiometric pH measurements have long been used for the bioanalysis of biofluids, tissues, and cells. A glass pH electrode and ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) can measure the time course of pH changes in a microenvironment as a result of physiological and biological activities. However, the signal interpretation of passive pH sensing is difficult because many biological activities influence the spatiotemporal distribution of pH in the microenvironment. Moreover, time course measurement suffers from stability because of gradual drifts in signaling. To address these issues, an active method of pH sensing was developed for the analysis of the cell barrier in vitro. The microenvironmental pH is temporarily perturbed by introducing a low concentration of weak acid (NH₄⁺) or base (CH₃COO⁻) to cells cultured on the gate insulator of ISFET using a superfusion system. Considering the pH perturbation originates from the semi-permeability of lipid bilayer plasma membranes, induced proton dynamics are used for analyzing the biomembrane barriers against ions and hydrated species following interaction with exogenous reagents. The unique feature of the method is the sensitivity to the formation of transmembrane pores as small as a proton (H⁺), enabling the analysis of cell–nanomaterial interactions at the molecular level. The new modality of cell analysis using ISFET is expected to be applied to nanomedicine, drug screening, and tissue engineering.

Internalization Mechanisms of Pyridinium Sulfobetaine Polymers Evaluated by Induced Protic Perturbations on Cell Surfaces

Understanding the interactions of soft nanomatters with cell membranes is particularly important for research into nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems, cell engineering, and subcellular imaging. Most nanoparticles, vesicles, micelles, and polymeric aggregates are internalized into endosomes and, eventually, lysosomes in the cytosol because of energy-dependent endocytic processes. Endocytic uptake substantially limits the access to the cytoplasm where a cargo agent acts. Bypassing the endocytic pathways by direct penetration into plasma membrane barriers would enhance the efficacy of nanomedicines. Some zwitterionic polymer nanoaggregates have been shown to permeate into the cell interior in an energy-independent manner. We have elucidated this phenomenon by observing changes in the biomembrane barrier functions against protons as the smallest indicator and have used these results to further design and develop poly(betaines). In this work, we investigated the translocation mechanisms for a series of zwitterionic poly(methacrylamide) and poly(methacrylate) species bearing a pyridinium propane sulfonate moiety in the monomers. Minor differences in the monomer structures and functional groups were observed to have dramatic effects on the interaction with plasma membranes during translocation. The ability to cross the plasma membrane involves a balance among the betaine dipole-dipole interaction, NH-π interaction, π-π interaction, cation-π interaction, and amide hydrogen bonding. We found that the cell-penetrating polysulfobetaines had limited or no detrimental effect on cell proliferation. Our findings enhance the opportunity to design and synthesize soft nanomatters for cell manipulations by passing across biomembrane partitions.

Induced Proton Dynamics on Semiconductor Surfaces for Sensing Tight Junction Formation Enhanced by an Extracellular Matrix and Drug

In the fields of tissue engineering and drug discovery, confirming the formation and maturation of epithelial cell tight junctions (TJs), which are necessary for blocking pathogenic invasion and absorption of nutrients and ions, at a high spatiotemporal resolution is essential. We previously developed a system of monitoring pH perturbation induced by weak acid exposure to cells cultured on an ion-sensitive field-effect transistor that enables a sensitive and specific detection of biomembrane injuries and TJ breakdowns caused by external stimuli such as nanomaterials and cytotoxins. In this study, we monitor time-lapse changes in the paracellular diffusion of growing epithelial cell monolayers using the pH perturbation assay as well as conventional permeability and trans-epithelial electrical resistance assays. The effects of the extracellular matrix and a TJ potentiator (KN-93) on epithelial TJ formation are evaluated. TJ formations were promoted on the substrate coated with Matrigel more than on the one coated with poly(l-lysine). KN-93 accelerated TJ formations in a dose-dependent manner. The pH perturbation assay denoted a longer incubation time for the completion of TJ formation compared with the conventional assays under the same conditions. Importantly, the pH perturbation assay is able to rigorously evaluate TJ formation, as the assay uses protons as the smallest indicator for detecting paracellular gaps, and the pH perturbation is specific to TJ alterations. These features for in vitro TJ evaluation using proton dynamics are advantageous for applications in tissue engineering and drug development.

Translocation Mechanisms of Cell-Penetrating Polymers Identified by Induced Proton Dynamics

Unlike the majority of nanomaterials designed for cellular uptake via endocytic pathways, some of the functional nanoparticles and nanospheres directly enter the cytoplasm without overt biomembrane injuries. Previously, we have shown that a water-soluble nanoaggregate composed of amphiphilic random copolymer of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) and n-butyl methacrylate (BMA), poly(MPC- random-BMA) (PMB), passes live cell membranes in an endocytosis-free manner. Yet, details in its translocation mechanism remain elusive due to the lack of proper analytical methods. To understand this phenomenon experimentally, we elaborated the original pH perturbation assay that is extremely sensitive to the pore formation on cell membranes. The ultimate sensitivity originates from the detection of the smallest indicator H⁺ (H₃O⁺) passed through the molecularly sized transmembrane pores upon challenge by exogenous reagents. We revealed that water-soluble PMB at the 30 mol % MPC unit (i.e., PMB30W) penetrated into the cytosol of model mammalian cells without any proton leaks, in contrast to conventional cell-penetrating peptides, TAT and R8 as well as the surfactant, Triton X-100. While exposure of PMB30W permeabilized cytoplasmic lactate dehydrogenase out of the cells, indicating the alteration of cell membrane polarity by partitioning of amphiphilic PMB30W into the lipid bilayers. Nevertheless, the biomembrane alterations by PMB30W did not exhibit cytotoxicity. In summary, elucidating translocation mechanisms by proton dynamics will guide the design of nanomaterials with controlled permeabilization to cell membranes for bioengineering applications.

Lactic Acid: No Longer an Inert and End-Product of Glycolysis

For decades, lactic acid has been considered a dead-end product of glycolysis. Research in the last 20+ years has shown otherwise. Through its transporters (MCTs) and receptor (GPR81), lactic acid plays a key role in multiple cellular processes, including energy regulation, immune tolerance, memory formation, wound healing, ischemic tissue injury, and cancer growth and metastasis. We summarize key findings of lactic acid signaling, functions, and many remaining questions.

Proton-sensing transistor systems for detecting ion leakage from plasma membranes under chemical stimuli

The membrane integrity of live cells is routinely evaluated for cytotoxicity induced by chemical or physical stimuli. Recent progress in bioengineering means that high-quality toxicity validation is required. Here, we report a pH-sensitive transistor system developed for the continuous monitoring of ion leakage from cell membranes upon challenge by toxic compounds. Temporal changes in pH were generated with high reproducibility via periodic flushing of HepG2 cells on a gate insulator of a proton-sensitive field-effect transistor with isotonic buffer solutions with/without NH₄Cl. The pH transients at the point of NH₄Cl addition/withdrawal originated from the free permeation of NH₃ across the semi-permeable plasma membranes, and the proton sponge effect produced by the ammonia equilibrium. Irreversible attenuation of the pH transient was observed when the cells were subjected to a membrane-toxic reagent. Experiments and simulations proved that the decrease in the pH transient was proportional to the area of the ion-permeable pores on the damaged plasma membranes. The pH signal was correlated with the degree of hemolysis produced by the model reagents. The pH assay was sensitive to the formation of molecularly sized pores that were otherwise not measurable via detection of the leakage of hemoglobin, because the hydrodynamic radius of hemoglobin was greater than 3.1nm in the hemolysis assay. The pH transient was not disturbed by inherent ion-transporter activity. The ISFET assay was applied to a wide variety of cell types. The system presented here is fast, sensitive, practical and scalable, and will be useful for validating cytotoxins and nanomaterials.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The plasma membrane toxicity and hemolysis are widely and routinely evaluated in biomaterials science and biomedical engineering. Despite the recent development of a variety of methods/materials for efficient gene/drug delivery systems to the cytosol, the methodologies for safety validation remain unchanged in many years while leaving some major issues such as sensitivity, accuracy, and fast response. The paper describes a new way of measuring the plasma membrane leakage in real time upon challenge by toxic reagents using a solid-state transistor that is sensitive to proton as the smallest indicator. Our system was reliable and was correlated to the results from hemolysis assay with advanced features in sensitivity, fast response, and wide applicability to chemical species. The downsizing and integration features of semiconductor fabrication technologies may realize cytotoxicity assays at the single-cell level in multi-parallel.

Identification of types of membrane injuries and cell death using whole cell-based proton-sensitive field-effect transistor systems

Membrane injury and apoptosis of mammalian cells by chemical stimuli were distinguished using ammonia-perfused continuous pH-sensing systems.

Semiconductor technology in protein kinase research and drug discovery: sensing a revolution

Since the discovery of protein kinase activity in 1954, close to 600 kinases have been discovered that have crucial roles in cell physiology. In several pathological conditions, aberrant protein kinase activity leads to abnormal cell and tissue physiology. Therefore, protein kinase inhibitors are investigated as potential treatments for several diseases, including dementia, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune and cardiovascular disease. Modern semiconductor technology has recently been applied to accelerate the discovery of novel protein kinase inhibitors that could become the standard-of-care drugs of tomorrow. Here, we describe current techniques and novel applications of semiconductor technologies in protein kinase inhibitor drug discovery.

Oleyl group-functionalized insulating gate transistors for measuring extracellular pH of floating cells

The extracellular ionic microenvironment has a close relationship to biological activities such as by cellular respiration, cancer development, and immune response. A system composed of ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFET), cells, and program-controlled fluidics has enabled the acquisition of real-time information about the integrity of the cell membrane via pH measurement. Here we aimed to extend this system toward floating cells such as T lymphocytes for investigating complement activation and pharmacokinetics through alternations in the plasma membrane integrity. We functionalized the surface of tantalum oxide gate insulator of ISFET with oleyl-tethered phosphonic acid for interacting with the plasma membranes of floating cells without affecting the cell signaling. The surface modification was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and water contact angle measurements. The Nernst response of -37.8 mV/pH was obtained for the surface-modified ISFET at 37 °C. The oleyl group-functionalized gate insulator successfully captured Jurkat T cells in a fluidic condition without acute cytotoxicity. The system was able to record the time course of pH changes at the cells/ISFET interface during the process of instant addition and withdrawal of ammonium chloride. Further, the plasma membrane injury of floating cells after exposure by detergent Triton™ X-100 was successfully determined using the modified ISFET with enhanced sensitivity as compared with conventional hemolysis assays.