A Highlight in 3D Cell Culture Research - Cooperation Results in New Technology for Testing Pharmaceutical
March 15, 2024In a recent interview with BIOspektrum, Prof. Dr. Eric Gottwald from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) described the collaboration with PreSens as a highlight in the last few years of his research. The cooperation resulted in a completely new and so far, unique method for oxygen monitoring in 3D cell culture in physioxic conditions.
Optical oxygen sensor foils and the VisiSens imaging system are already applied for 2D monitoring in many lab-on-a-chip and microfluidic applications. Together with the KIT PreSens now developed a sensor foil that can be shaped in a microthermoforming process. The resulting foil comprises a microcavity array that not only serves as a 3D cell culture platform but can also measure the oxygen in the direct microenvironment of the cultured spheroids or organoids. The microcavity sensor foil can easily be integrated in multidishes and a multitude of spheroids can be monitored from below with the VisiSens TD imaging camera. The 3D cell aggregates inside the microcavities remain open during cultivation and measurement and oxygen can diffuse freely to the cells from the medium above, allowing for near in vivo conditions and stress-free cell culture.
This new cell culture monitoring platform opens new perspectives for many applications, for example in mitochondrial stress tests or cytotoxicity tests for pharmaceutically active compounds. Hopefully the cooperation of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology with PreSens will continue to produce innovative solutions in the future!
Read more about this fascinating new cell culture monitoring technique!
