Toxicity assessment of biological suspensions using the dielectric impedance spectroscopy technique.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This article studies the variation of the electromagnetic parameters of a suspension of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos to assess its potential applications to toxicological and biomedical research areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this purpose, the dielectric impedance spectroscopy technique is applied to a modified coaxial line enclosing the biological suspension to be characterized in the frequency range from 100 kHz to 100 MHz. The electrical parameters of the suspension under test were obtained by fitting the impedance spectra to the resulted from the simulation of the test fixture using finite elements (FE). RESULTS: Variation of the complex permittivity of the suspensions makes possible to identify viable and non-viable embryos after a toxic exposure, as well as different stages during the blastula period of embryonic development of the zebrafish. CONCLUSIONS: The approach presented here, combining experimental and simulation techniques, may provide a basis for a non-invasive method to assess toxicity in any biological suspension.