Semiconductor sensor arrays for electrophysiology and cellular analysis

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The proposed program seeks to develop semiconductor chips that interface with biological cells to increase the rate at which new drug compounds are screened. New platforms will enable more rapid screening of target compounds in ion channel and G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) drug discovery compared to commercially-available technologies. The planned effort will leverage established complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing to fabricate low-cost, disposable silicon integrated-circuit sensors that interface with biological cells directly on chip. CMOS is the technology of choice for high-throughput cellular analysis because it enables denser integration of sensors compared to passive well plates used in conventional drug screening. This technology also permits parallel cellular recording through integration of data-acquisition and processing circuits at each on-chip sensing location. In addition, CMOS allows transducers and sensor electronics to exist together in very close proximity, permitting a high-bandwidth, low-interference interface for accurately recording cell currents. Furthermore, CMOS technology, which is used in the design of virtually all commodity microelectronics, is very low cost because it leverages the tremendous economies of scale associated with the semiconductor manufacturing industry. One objective is to design CMOS sensor arrays for high-throughput drug-screening based on planar patch-clamp electrophysiology. Another objective is to develop CMOS sensor arrays for cellular impedance analysis to observe cytotoxicity, receptor-ligand interactions, and cellular adhesion and spreading. These new screening technologies will benefit the Canadian pharmaceutical industry by enabling more thorough analysis of potential drug toxicity in less time, allowing new drugs to be brought to market more quickly and at a lower cost. The proposed program will also train highly qualified personnel in CMOS microsystem development who will contribute to the growth of Canada's biotechnology and semiconductor research and industrial sectors.