Monitoring pH, temperature and humidity in long-term stem cell culture in CO2 incubator
Abstract
Cell culture in stem cell research is on the rise, not only for basic research but also for its potential medical and therapeutic applications. Monitoring culture process using sensors throughout the culture helps to optimize culture conditions for optimal growth and maximize yield from the cells. Further, the sensor data gives insight into developing better cell culture systems. Typical stem cell culture platforms, e.g. well plates or flasks, cannot be easily equipped with sensors and impose many challenges in periodic process measurements in a CO2incubator. We present an incubator compatible modular measurement system with three sensors, to monitor pH, temperature and humidity continuously throughout the culture. Sensors are assembled around a flow through cuvette for highly sterile non-contact measurements. No sample preparation or sample extraction from the incubator is needed and the measurements are carried out in a closed flow loop without wasting any medium. The modular assembly is novel, reusable and feasible for humid incubator environments. The system has been tested, validated and used in mesenchymal stem cell expansion and differentiation, for periods ranging from two to three weeks. Once the measurement has commenced at the beginning of culture, continuous measurements without sensor recalibration or special manual attention are carried out till the end of the culture. Measurement data clearly show the interplay between measured parameters, indicating a few stre…
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Low-cost sensors are available to monitor relative humidity levels inside incubators.
“Low-cost sensors are available to monitor relative humidity levels inside incubators (Supplementary Table S1, Rajan et al., 2017) and should also be reported alongside key environmental variables.”
From Toward Best Practices for Controlling Mammalian Cell Culture Environments (2022) · cites this paper as Rajan et al., 2017
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- Authors
- Kattipparambil Rajan, D., Verho, J., Kreutzer, J., Valimaki, H., Ihalainen, H., Lekkala, J., Patrikoski, M., & Miettinen, S.
- Affiliations
- Tampere University of Technology (FI)
- Tampere University Hospital (FI)
- Venue
- 2017 IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA)
- Publisher
- IEEE
- Published
- 2017-05
- Pages
- 470-474
- OpenAlex
- W2738316109
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 3.95
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA) (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Bioengineering › Analytical Chemistry and Sensors
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Control and Systems Engineering › Advanced Sensor and Control Systems
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects
- Keywords
- stem cell culture, CO2 incubator, process monitoring, pH monitoring, temperature monitoring, humidity monitoring, mesenchymal stem cells, stem cell expansion, stem cell differentiation, bioprocess control, modular measurement system
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