Label-free in-line characterization of immune cell culture using quantitative phase imaging.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41309668.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41536-025-00442-x and PMC identifier 12660828.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Cell therapies, such as T cell immunotherapies, hold significant promise for treating complex diseases; however, their widespread adoption has been hindered by challenges related to monitoring cells during culture, which has affected their consistency, potency, and cost. Here, we present a compact, low-cost, label-free quantitative phase imaging (QPI) platform to enable continuous, non-destructive, in-line monitoring of T cell cultures within bioreactors. We further develop quantitative, image-based assays that accurately characterizes T cell culture viability and activation from over 50 independent donors-including therapeutically relevant CAR-T cells - while also preserving culture sterility and eliminating the need for disruptive sampling and endpoint assays. Our findings establish a QPI-pipeline for label-free, in-line cell monitoring and characterization which can significantly improve cell manufacturing processes.