Methods for Determining And/or Monitoring Conditions of a Three Dimensional Cell Culture System and Optical Sensor Device for Conducting Said Methods

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This invention provides a method and associated optical sensor device for monitoring key conditions (physiological state, vitality, and metabolic status) in three-dimensional cell culture systems (such as organ-on-chip devices) in a non-invasive, contact-free manner. The method uses erythrocytes (red blood cells) as natural detectors for measuring flow rate, osmolality, and oxygen consumption without disrupting the cell culture environment, while vital dye fluorescence indicates cell viability and autofluorescence of metabolic markers (NADH and FAD) reveals metabolic state. The sensor device is specially designed to carry out these multimodal optical measurements from outside the culture system, enabling continuous, automated analysis.

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• Continuous monitoring of organoids or tissue models in organ-on-chip and multi-organ-on-chip platforms for drug discovery and toxicology studies.
• Real-time assessment of cell culture health and metabolism in bioreactors and advanced cell culture systems in research or pharmaceutical production.
• Non-invasive, automated endpoints for efficacy, toxicity, and mechanism-of-action studies of pharmacological or cosmetic compounds.
• Long-term monitoring of engineered tissues for regenerative medicine applications or implant studies.
• Optimization and quality control of complex cell cultures in biotechnology and academic labs.

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• Enables truly non-invasive and contact-free monitoring, reducing risk of contamination and preserving sterile culture conditions.
• Allows simultaneous assessment of physiological state, vitality, and metabolism – providing a comprehensive, real-time profile of cell/tissue health.
• Eliminates need for physical or chemical perturbation (e.g., insertion of probes, destructive sampling) in delicate 3D cultures.
• Improves automation and scalability for high-throughput screening, reducing manual operations and measurement errors.
• Supports enhanced reproducibility, continuous data acquisition, and early detection of problems in complex cell culture experiments.
• Compatible with diverse 3D culture formats and a range of tissue or organ types, including multi-organ systems.

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Patent Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for determining and/or monitoring at least one condition of a three dimensional cell culture system comprising at least one growth section, wherein the at least one condition is selected from the group consisting of physiological condition, vitality, and metabolism status. The present invention further relates to an optical sensor device configured to carry out said method.