Non-invasive, label free, quantitative characterisation of live cells in monolayer culture

Cell culture is essential to many areas of biology ranging from the fundamental study of cell biology to the application of cells for therapeutic purposes in Regenerative Medicine. Common to all these areas is the need to characterise cell populations under culture. Currently, cell populations are routinely monitored using conventional biological analysis e.g. cell surface markers, gene expression. This approach is destructive, not suitable for in-process measurements and renders time course experiments impossible. Alternatively non-destructive approaches that assess cell morphology can also be used, with light microscopy techniques (e.g. bright field, phase contrast imaging) being the primary methods. These microscopy techniques can sometimes be combined with the use of exogenous labels such as fluorescent markers. This can provide functional information but has the disadvantage that such cell modifications are invasive and potentially toxic to the cells.