Conductive Polymers Enable Electrochemical Sensing of Living Cells

Abstract

Cells are fundamental structural and functional units of life, and all organismal vital phenomena essentially originate from cellular activities. Therefore, an in-depth investigation of dynamic cellular processes is crucial for understanding life mechanisms, disease pathogenesis, and therapeutic development. Electrochemical sensors have emerged as powerful analytical tools for real-time monitoring of living cells, owing to their exceptional temporal resolution, high detection sensitivity, and robust quantitative capability. Conductive polymers (CPs), which uniquely integrate excellent electrical conductivity, versatile processability, and remarkable biocompatibility, have recently attracted considerable interest as promising building blocks for advanced cell analysis platforms. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress in the construction and functionalization strategies of CP-based electrochemical sensors, with particular emphasis on PEDOT as the most extensively studied CP, and elaborates their applications in real-time monitoring of diverse cellular processes across the subcellular, single-cell, and cell-population levels. Finally, the current challenges and future perspectives for CP-based electrochemical sensors are discussed, highlighting material innovation and translational biomedical potential.