Multifunctional SH-SY5Y-based biomimetic sensor for integrated detection of olfaction, gustation and toxicity

The detection of olfaction, gustation and toxicity has played an important role in industries and research. The key factor to realize this function is to detect different substances with the same sensitive element. In this paper, the human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells endogenously expressed the human bitter receptor, T2R16. Meanwhile, an olfactory receptor, ODR-10, was transfected on the plasma membrane of the cells at the same time. T2R16 could specifically respond to bitter compounds, which can be monitored by cell-impedance sensor. The ODR-10 receptor can also specifically respond to diacetyl, which was cultured on the microelectrode arrays to establish a novel biomimetic sensor for odor detection. The results represent a dose-dependent responses in a certain concentration range. Moreover, the cell-impedance biosensor enabled a quick toxicity detection of salicin. In conclusion, the biomimetic sensors based on extracellular recording in vitro show great potential for use in both basic research and practical applications.