Cell monitoring with optical coherence tomography

Background aims: We evaluated a commercially available instrument, OCTiCell (chromologic.com/octicell), for monitoring cell growth in suspended agitated bioreactors based on optical coherence tomography. OCTiCell is an in-line, completely non-invasive instrument that can operate on any suspended-cell bioreactor with a window or transparent wall. In traditional optical coherence tomography, the imaging beam is rastered over the sample to form a three-dimensional image. OCTiCell, instead uses a fixed imaging beam and takes advantage of the motion of the media to move the cells across the interrogating optical beam. Results: We found strong correlations between the non-invasive, non-contact, reagent-free OCTiCell measurements of cell concentration and viability and those obtained from the automated cell counter, and the XTT viability assay, which is a colorimetric assay for quantifying metabolic activity. Conclusions: This novel cell monitoring method can adapt to different bioreactor form factors and could reduce the labor cost and contamination risks associated with cell growth monitoring.