Advancing Sensitivity in Measuring Cardiomyocyte Contraction Force Through Single-Crystal Silicon Strain Sensors

Our proposed method involves the utilization of an SU-8 cantilever integrated with a single-crystal silicon strain sensor, which facilitates both miniaturization and accurate detection of cardiomyocytes contraction force. The single-crystal silicon strain sensor exhibits remarkable electrical stability and exceptional sensitivity, surpassing metal sensors by a factor of 17, while achieving force measurements below 0.02µN. Furthermore, the compatibility of SU-8 with photolithography techniques enables convenient miniaturization and large-scale production of the device. The proposed device was used to study the effect of verapamil and isoproterenol on the contractile properties of cardiomyocytes, demonstrating its potential as an early predictor of cardiotoxic compounds in analytical drug discovery.