Abstract

Real-Time Sensing of pH and Dissolved Oxygen in Microfluidics Devices

Jake Boy, Application Scientist, Scientific Bioprocessing

Real-time sensing of critical cell culture parameters continues to be a major challenge in tissue/organ-on-a-chip systems. While electrochemical probes have been used for decades in large bioreactor systems, use of these probes in microfluidics systems is prohibitive due to form factor challenges. Optical sensor technologies have enabled non-invasive, real-time sensing that can be tailored to a wide range of custom microfluidic bioreactor systems. In this presentation, we describe application examples that utilize pH and dissolved oxygen sensors developed with state-of-the-art fluorescence technology. The sensors support long-term cultures in the order of weeks that are typical for engineered tissue and organ model development and can be used either for monitoring or for monitoring and control through closed loop feedback.