Label-free monitoring of therapy response in 3D spheroids using lab-on-a-chip impedance spectroscopy

Abstract

The high incidence and mortality of cancer continue to drive research and development of effective therapies. Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) platforms have emerged as powerful alternatives to traditional biological evaluation methods, offering reduced complexity, lower costs, and improved throughput. In parallel, the integration of non-invasive and non-destructive sensing techniques have expanded opportunities for real-time and label-free analysis. Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which exploits the intrinsic dielectric properties of cells, has shown promise for the quantitative evaluation of 3D cellular structures. In this study, we demonstrate the application of LOC-based EIS to assess the bioeffects of radiotherapy on 3D head and neck cancer spheroids. Our results establish EIS as a viable tool for real-time monitoring of treatment-induced changes in 3D tumor models, supporting its potential in preclinical cancer research and therapeutic screening.