Measurement of dissolved oxygen with lab-on-chip systems

Measurement of dissolved oxygen with lab-on-chip systems or cell based assays reflects the metabolic activity of living cells cultivated on such devices. This information together with other data from the cells (e.g. extracellular acidification, morphological changes) allows interpretation of cellular vitality and analysis of their interaction with drugs or pollutants. In this work the state of the art of measurement of dissolved oxygen is presented. The most important principles of the measurement methods of dissolved oxygen are presented. Example measurements with lab-on-chip systems from applications as environmental monitoring and chemosensitivity of cancer cells are shown. These measurements were performed at the IMOLA, a lab-on-chip system which was developed at the Heinz Nixdorf-Lehrstuhl für Medizinische Elektronik. IMOLA is a modular cell based approach where multiparametric electrochemical biosensors are used to monitor the vitality of living cells without the use of markers. Environmental monitoring was performed using algae as signal transducer for environmental pollutants. In case of chemosensitivity results from an effectiveness test of a chemotherapeutica are presented. Here the vitality of cancer cells is compared between treated and untreated cells in an online experiment. Finally the emerging importance of a cell based approach in pharmacology and cancer research is discussed.