Integrated paper-based 3D platform for long-term cell culture and in situ cell viability monitoring of Alzheimer's disease cell model

Reactive oxygen species including superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radicals, as a conflicting class of biological metabolites in living organism, act crucial effect on Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this work, a facile integrated platform composed of a paper-based three-dimension (3D) cell culture system and an electrochemical sensor was developed for the construction of AD cell model in third dimensional structure and in situ cell viability monitoring by H2O2 released from PC12 cells cultured on paper scaffold were divided into three groups containing control group, amyloid beta peptide 25–35 (Aβ25-35) group and Aβ25-35+curcumin (Aβ25-35+cur) group, respectively. In addition, the paper-based 3D platform displayed excellent properties, such as sensitivity, selectivity, reproducibility and stability. The levels of H2O2 expressed in PC12 cells of the three groups were monitored through a paper-based 3D platform. The viability of cells cultured on the 96-well plate was measured by 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Results of this paper-based platform are consistent with those of MTT, both displaying improved cell viability and decreased H2O2 production in Aβ25-35+cur group compared to Aβ25-35 group, which indicates that curcumin has effective cytoprotection. The paper-based 3D platform provides a convenient, economic and universal platform for in situ cell activity monitoring by key small molecules released from living cells.