CellStudio: a Modular, Tunable and Accessible Platform for Analysis of Growth Factors Secretions in Cell Cultures

Traditional cell culture methods face significant limitations in monitoring cell secretions with spatial and temporal precision. Advanced microsystems incorporating biosensors have been developed to address these challenges, but they tend to lack versatility, and their complexity, along with the requirement for specialized equipment, limits their broader adoption. CellStudio offers an innovative, user-friendly solution that exploits the Printing and Vacuum Lithography combined with bead-based assays to create modular and tunable cell patterns surrounded by biosensors. This platform allows for high-resolution, spatially resolved analysis of secreted proteins, such as VEGF and FGF-2, while being easily implementable in standard laboratory settings. CellStudio’s design is compatible with conventional laboratory equipment, facilitating its integration into existing workflows without the need for extensive training or specialized tools. Validation experiments using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and HeLa cells demonstrated that CellStudio can detect small secretion levels from small cell clusters with high sensitivity as well as analyze diffusion profiles, remarking the possibilities for studying cell behavior. By offering a standardized, cost-effective approach to detailed cellular analysis, CellStudio significantly enhances the capabilities of traditional cell culture techniques, with broad applications across biological and biomedical research.