Monitoring of living cells

Cell cultures often form the testing ground for new active agents. Results can only be reliable if cell growth is standardised. This process will soon happen automatically with a microscope to monitor growth and image processing to control cultivation via integrated robotics.

Useful results can only be achieved if cells always behave in a reproducible way. To do so, they have to grow in a standardised form, but cell cultivation is still a manual task in many laboratories. In the joint 'Live Cell Monitoring' project, four Fraunhofer institutes are developing a system for fully automatic monitoring and cultivation of cells. The Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM is coordinating the project.

"We integrate optical monitoring with a microscope and cell cultivation robotics directly in the air conditioned sterile workbench where the cells grow," explains Christian Hoffmann from the IPM.

"An intelligent learning software system controls the two components."

Up to now the research scientists have repeatedly had to remove the culture from the incubator during cultivation for instance to check the rate of growth or to supply the cultures with a fresh nutrient medium. This can infect and damage sensitive cell cultures. In the new system a fully automatic microscope and the robotics are modified to be virtually maintenance-free when running under typical culture conditions, such as a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and almost 100% relative air humidity. The system even meets the hygienic design requirements borrowed from the food industry. The status of the cell culture can be monitored by phase contrast and fluorescence measurement.