Dual Pyroelectric Sensor for Thermal Characterization of Cell Lines

Cell culturing is one of the most intensively used technique, providing a controllable artificial environment for cell growing and monitoring. Cellular thermodynamics (intracellular thermal components of absorption) has recently been intensively investigated because of its implication in different molecular mechanisms. A Thermoelectric sensor can thus provide information about changes happening inside a cell. The work focuses on the design and fabrication of a dual pyroelectric sensor for the thermal characterization of cultured cells. The device is based on the use of two pyroelectric elements stimulated by an Infrared source. It is inherently compact and designed for compensating for the effect of the culture media in which the cells are maintained. Experimental results on the ARPE-19 cell line at different concentrations evidenced a linear dependence of the dual-sensor's output. Moreover, with respect to its single-element counterpart, the effect of common-mode signals (such as that of culture media) is drastically reduced. The dual sensor is thus a promising characterization tool for rapid lab-based applications.