Developing a real-time fluorescence cell growth monitoring system

CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) based real-time fluorescent cells monitoring system can be applied for measuring transfection efficiency or cytotoxicity on pharmacokinetic study. CMOS sensors have many advantages over traditional microscope CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensors, including smaller physical size, lighter weight, and lower costs. The aim of the study is to confirm the feasibility and efficiency of our newly developed CMOS-based real-time fluorescent cells monitoring system. We grow CFSE (carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester) -labeling RAW264.7 cells in vitro and measure the proliferation rate of these cells by our newly developed instrument and by flow cytometry analysis. CFSE is a fluorescent cell staining dye. This reagent is easily uptaken into cells and yields a well-retained fluorescent emission after blue light excitation. When CFSE-labelling cells divide, the mean fluorescent intensity degenerates into half. Thereby, we can detect in real-time the distinct generations of proliferating cells and their growth rate by using our new instrument instead of using conventional flow cytometry analysis.