Assessment of Multidrug Resistance on Cell Co-Culture Patterns Using Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

The emergence of resistance to multiple unrelated chemotherapeutic drugs impedes the treatment of several cancers. Although the involvement of ATP-binding cassette transporters has long been known, there is noin situ method capable of tracking this transporter-related-resistance at the single cell level without interfering with the cell’s environment or metabolism. In this seminar, I will discuss how scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) can quantitatively and non-invasively track MRP1-dependent multidrug resistance (MDR) in patterned adenocarcinoma cervical cancer cells (HeLa). A short demonstration of our basic soft-lithography strategies will be presented. I will discuss how our non-resistant human cancer cells and their MDR variants are arranged in a side-by-side format using an innovative, stencil-based patterning scheme, allowing for precise positioning of target cells underneath the SECM sensor. SECM measurements of the patterned cells performed with ferrocenemethanol (FcCH₂OH) and hexaammineruthenium (III) chloride ([Ru(NH₃)₆]³⁺),serving as electrochemical indicators, are used to establisha kinetic “map” of constant-height SECM scans, free of topography contributions. The concept underlying the work described herein may help evaluate the effectiveness of treatment administration strategies targeting reduced drug efflux.

Janine Mauzeroll, Prof
Associate Professor
Chemistry Department
McGill University
tel: (514) 398-3898
janine.mauzeroll@mcgill.ca