Infrared spectroscopy-based chemometric modeling for monitoring mesenchymal stem cell functional decline across...

Reliable assessment of cellular state remains a challenge in cell therapy manufacturing and regenerative medicine. Proliferative capacity, senescence, and metabolic activity are traditionally measured using labor-intensive assays, limiting timely and integrated assessment of cellular state. Here, we apply attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis to assess whether intrinsic vibrational fingerprints of mesenchymal stem cells reflect coordinated functional changes during in vitro expansion. By integrating proliferation kinetics, metabolite fluxes, and senescence-associated phenotype into a composite functional score, we mapped progressive functional decline across passages onto infrared spectral changes. Spectral alterations were associated with shifts in lipid-related and protein-associated regions as senescence accumulated. Despite strong donor-specific differences, we identified conserved spectral fingerprint regions that tracked functional decline across donor samples analyzed. These shared biochemical signatures were associated with the prediction of senescence progression and the estimation of functional passage in an independent donor sample. Together, our results show that intrinsic vibrational fingerprints capture coordinated biochemical changes during cellular decline and provide a label-free, rapid means to assess cellular state.