Oxygen Microsensor Array to Study Spatial Efficacy of Photodynamic Therapy in Vitro

We present a cell culture monitoring platform to study effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) on cancer cells. For the first time, it was possible to observe differences in cellular respiration at the transition between treated and untreated tumor cells in the same culture. Therewith more realistic in vitro studies of treatment efficiency and edge effects during PDT are possible. This resembles the spatially limited exposure in the in vivo situation. The sensor platform comprises an optically transparent microsensor chip with an integrated array of electrochemical oxygen microsensors and a LED light source for the photodynamic treatment.