Monitoring of Cell Culture

Abstract

Cell culture monitoring is essential for the continuous characterisation of cultivated cells. This helps us to understand each cell line's growth and metabolism properties and to establish and ensure reproducible cell cultivations. Monitoring not only comprises biological parameters, like cell count and viability, but also physiological parameters, like substrate, metabolite and possibly product concentrations. Furthermore, a large set of physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature and osmolarity is routinely monitored in cell culture applications. A multiplicity of monitoring technologies exists. Often, there are several methods for one monitoring parameter to choose from and the choice depends on application and process needs. Moreover, new methods are developed at ever increasing speed. Today, cell culture processes and regulatory agencies demand detailed process understanding, which extensive monitoring is a prerequisite for. In this chapter, the current state of monitoring technologies and applications is reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on biological parameters, i.e. cell density and viability as well as substrates, metabolites, and product concentration but also on cell stress and apoptosis. Furthermore, promising exploratory technologies are surveyed. Lastly, the chapter is meant to bridge the gap between existing technology-driven and more biologyoriented publications in this field.

Modular Instrumentation for Controlling and Monitoring In-Vitro Cultivation Environment and Image-based Functionality Measurements of Human Stem Cells

“…Monitoring can be helpful not only for physiochemical or metabolite measurements but also for a routine inspection of the substrates, electrodes, contamination and biodegradation. Accurate process monitoring becomes inevitable also for standardisation and regulatory agencies [196]. In many instances, a suitable existing monitoring technology can directly be adopted.…”