Detection of microbeads in self-developed in vitro bioimpedance assay: A proof of principle study

Research on microand nanoplastics is attracting greater interest. As current studies have shown, their presence is in environmental elements and living organisms, thus investigating their toxicity is of crucial concern. In previous work, the authors have developed a unique bioimpedance spectrum (BIS) measurement technology to study the biological processes of cell cultures in vitro. Exploiting the electrical properties of the material composition of plastics, it seems trivial to investigate how the BIS technique can detect them. Therefore, BIS data of plastic beads of 6 mm diameter were recorded at different concentrations. The correlation between microbead concentration and BIS data is established. The proof-of-principle measurements are successful and the technology is ready for testing with live cells.