Glucose and lactate monitoring in cell cultures with a wireless android interface

Advancements in technology can noticeably extend the knowledge of molecular biology for several types of cell cultures. However, at present there is a lack of available systems for real-time monitoring of cell behavior in-vitro. In this paper we propose a sensor for real-time monitoring of glucose and lactate in cell cultures, with the possibility to extend the detection to other metabolites. We explore electrodeposition as a method to precisely immobilize multi-walled carbon nanotubes and different enzymes on multiple Au electrodes in a single step. The sensor performs amperometric measurements and is connected to portable devices, such as smartphones and tablets, by means of an Android application. The application, named BlueCells, communicates to remote devices via Bluetooth and enables the user to select the species to be monitored and the measurement setup. Finally, it enables online monitoring of the species directly on the device screen. The whole system has been tested by chronoamperometries of glucose and lactate in cell culture media. The sensor achieves a sensitivity of (4.67 ± 1.26) nA=(mM·mm²) and a detection limit of (1.41 ± 0.90) mM for the glucose, while it results in a sensitivity of (12.16 ± 3.8) nA=(mM·mm²) and a detection limit of (0.28 ± 0.17) mM for the lactate.