(681h) Electronic Platform Used As a Proxy to Quantify Cellular Toxicity of Anticancer Drug

Digitoxin is a naturally occurring class of cardiac glycosides known for its efficacy in treatment of heart failure. Recent studies showed that digitoxin exhibits strong cytotoxic effects against several types of cancer from breast to prostate and lung cancer. However, the cellular mechanisms associated with digitoxin exposure and its selectivity to cancer cells when compared to normal cells, are still subject to debate. In this research we are using an electronic platform as a proxy to assess toxicity of digitoxin when incubated with non-small lung cancer cells (NCI-H460) in real time. The approach is based on measuring the behavior of NCI-H460 upon exposure to different concentrations of digitoxin using the electrical cell impedance sensor (ECIS). This non-invasive technique relies on real time impedance measurements of cells seeded on gold electrodes to assess changes in cellular morphology and cell-cell interactions in real time. Such measurements are further correlated with cellular functions to derive mechanisms associated with cytotoxic and apoptotic events and further confirmed by cellular and optical assays. Our results provide novel means to investigate drug kinetics and metabolization in real time using a high throughput electronic platform and promises to extend such cellular-based interface studies to other analysts, all with high sensitivity and in real time.