A Noninvasive Thin Film Sensor for Monitoring Oxygen Tension during in Vitro Cell Culture

Oxygen tension in mammalian cell culture can profoundly affect cellular differentiation, viability, and proliferation. However, precise measurement of dissolved oxygen in real time remains difficult. We report a new noninvasive sensor that can accurately measure oxygen concentration during cell culture while being compatible with live-cell imaging techniques such as fluorescence and phase contrast microscopy. The sensor is prepared by integrating the porphyrin dye, Pt(II) meso-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphine (PtTFPP) into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films. Response of the sensor in the presence of oxygen can be characterized by the linear Stern-Volmer relationship with high sensitivity (K(SV) = 584 +/- 71 atm(-1)). A multilayer sensor design, created by sandwiching the PtTFPP-PDMS with a layer of Teflon AF followed by a second PDMS layer, effectively mitigates against dye cytotoxicity while providing a substrate for cell attachment. Using this sensor, changes in oxygen tension could be monitored in real-time as attached cells proliferated. The oxygen tension was found to decrease due to oxygen consumption by the cells, and the data could be analyzed using Fick's law to obtain the per-cell oxygen consumption rate. This sensor is likely to enable new studies on the effects of dissolved oxygen on cellular behavior.