Feasibility study of an online toxicological sensor based on the optical waveguide technique

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cell Biology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Cellular morphology changes are early indicators of toxic substance exposure.
• Optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) can monitor cell adhesion and spreading.
• Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) provides detailed cell shape information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare OWLS and CLSM for monitoring cell morphology under identical conditions.
• To correlate cell-shape data from CLSM with cell-surface interaction measurements from OWLS.
• To evaluate an online microsystem sensor for detecting cellular responses to toxins.

Main Methods:

• Utilized optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).
• Established a cell layer on a waveguide surface for online measurements.
• Exposed osteoblastic MC 3T3-E1 cells to sodium hypochlorite as a model toxic substance.

Main Results:

• OWLS effectively monitored cell attachment, spreading, and morphological changes in response to toxins.
• A decrease in average cell contact area was observed at sodium hypochlorite concentrations above 0.01%.
• A strong correlation was found between OWLS signals and CLSM-derived cell morphology.

Conclusions:

• OWLS is a viable method for online monitoring of cellular responses to toxic compounds.
• The developed microsystem sensor shows potential for applications in toxicology, pharmacy, and biocompatibility testing.
• OWLS provides quantitative data on cell morphology changes, aiding in the assessment of substance toxicity.