A Novel Ultrasound Technique for Non-Invasive Assessment of Cell Differentiation

A novel technique for the characterization of mammalian cells during cell culture was studied using a lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate single crystal piezoelectric resonator. Tests were conducted to observe changes in material properties of human adipose derived stem cells during both proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. The resonator electrical impedance was recorded as a function of the cell acoustic impedance, an indicator of cell viscoelasticity. Observed electrical impedance change (in percentage) from day 1 to day 14 for human adipose derived stem cells undergoing chemical-induced osteogenic differentiation was ~1.7× that observed for proliferating stem cells maintained in complete growth medium.