Photonic Biosensor Monitors Oxygen in Organs-on-a-Chip
What tissues of the body do depends on the level of oxygen concentration, and different tissues have various oxygen levels. For that reason, engineers at North Carolina State University have developed an oxygen sensor for use in organs-on-a-chip and 3D tissue scaffolds. As they describe it: “The key to the biosensor is a phosphorescent gel that emits infrared light after being exposed to infrared light. Think of it as an echoing flash. But the lag time between when the gel is exposed to light and when it emits the echoing flash varies, depending on the amount of oxygen in its environment. The more oxygen there is, the shorter the lag time. These lag times last for mere microseconds, but by monitoring those times, researchers can measure the oxygen concentration down to tenths of a percent.” MORE
Image Credit: Michael Daniele, NC State and UNC, Chapel Hill