Direct Recording of Intracellular Potentials of Cardiomyocytes Through Solution Processed Planar Electrolyte-Gated Field-Effect Transistors

Minimally invasive recording of intracellular action potentials in electrogenic cells is in high demand. Present tools and technology include invasive patch clamp technique, 3D nanostructures often combined with electro/opto poration methods and nanodevices such as nanowire field-effect transistors. However, these approaches mostly require complex manufacturing processes or are invasive. With the aim of enabling a cost-effective, non-invasive recording platform based on devices that can be easily fabricated and processed from solution with large-area printing techniques, we propose planar Electrolyte Gated Field-Effect Transistors (EGFETs) based on solution-processed carbon based material. Remarkably, despite the planar geometry of the device, we could demonstrate the spontaneous recording of intracellular action potentials of human induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes. The simplicity of the device combined with the high signal to noise ratio opens up new opportunities for low-cost, reliable, and flexible biosensors and arrays for high quality parallel recording of cellular action potentials.