Applied Biophysics is a company that works to create opportunities for research in drug discovery and cell biology through ECIS™, or Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing. ECIS is method of studying cell growth and behavior in a real-time. Cells grown in tissue culture are placed in an electrode array. As the cells grow and divide, they cover the surface of the array. As the electrical current is sent indirectly through the layer of cells, a potential (V) across the electrodes results, and is then measured by the ECIS instrument. This impedance-based method of studying cell behavior has been applied in countless ways, such as in the study of the “invasive nature of cancer cells, the barrier function of endothelial cells, in vitro toxicity testing as an alternative to animal testing, and signal transduction involving GPCR’s for modern drug discovery.” (www.biophysics.com)

 The potential of ECIS was first realized when Drs. Ivar Giaever and Charles R. Keese were working at GE. Since then, the private company, Applied Biophysics, has been created around this product. The ECIS technology is now used in 6 continents and is utilized by major research foundations and universities.