Oxygen Gradient Imaging
Oxygen Gradient Imaging - Related Videos
11:23
Polydimethylsiloxane-polycarbonate Microfluidic Devices for Cell Migration Studies Under Perpendicular Chemical and Oxygen Gradients
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Cited by 14 •
2017
The control of chemical and oxygen gradients is essential for cell cultures. This paper reports a polydimethylsiloxane-polycarbonate (PDMS-PC) microfluidic device capable of reliably generating combinations of chemical and oxygen gradients for cell migration studies, which can be practically utilized in biological labs without sophisticated instrumentation.
07:31
Agarose-Based Model Ecosystem for Cultivating Methanotrophs in a Methane-Oxygen Counter Gradient
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2024
A protocol is described for preparing a simple model ecosystem that recreates the methane-oxygen counter gradient found in the natural habitat of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria, enabling the study of their physiology in a spatially resolved context. Modifications to common biochemical assays for use with the agarose-based model ecosystem are also described.
09:40
Electron Spin Resonance Micro-imaging of Live Species for Oxygen Mapping
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Cited by 3 •
2010
This protocol describes a method for micron-scale three-dimensional imaging of oxygen concentration in the immediate environment of live cells by electron spin resonance microscopy.
08:23
Characterization of Sickling During Controlled Automated Deoxygenation with Oxygen Gradient Ektacytometry
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Cited by 22 •
2019
Here, we present oxygen gradient ektacytometry, a rapid and reproducible method to measure red blood cell deformability in samples from patients with sickle cell disease under controlled deoxygenation and reoxygenation. This technique provides a way to study red blood cell sickling and to monitor sickle cell disease treatment efficacy.
13:10
Creating Adhesive and Soluble Gradients for Imaging Cell Migration with Fluorescence Microscopy
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Cited by 8 •
2013
A method for the assembly of adhesive and soluble gradients in a microscopy chamber for live cell migration studies is described. The engineered environment combines antifouling surfaces and adhesive tracks with solution gradients and therefore allows one to determine the relative importance of guidance cues.
FAQs
Oxygen-sensitive fluorescent or phosphorescent probes change their signal when oxygen quenches their emission. Regions with different oxygen availability therefore produce different image intensities or signal lifetimes. Relating these measured changes to local oxygen levels converts optical contrast into a spatial map, allowing researchers to identify oxygen-rich and oxygen-depleted areas within engineered biological systems.
The probes provide two measurable signal properties: emission intensity and the duration of the signal, called its lifetime. Oxygen-dependent quenching alters these properties, so either measurement can be related to local oxygen concentration. Using spatially resolved intensity or lifetime data helps reveal how oxygen varies across a sample rather than reporting only an overall oxygen value.
Spatial oxygen patterns provide information about diffusion through a system and consumption associated with cellular respiration. A region with reduced oxygen can indicate limited transport, elevated demand, or both, while oxygen-rich regions show more favorable availability. In engineered tissues and organoids, these patterns help identify hypoxic microenvironments and examine how oxygen distribution relates to tissue organization.
A typical workflow places an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent or phosphorescent probe within the biological or engineered environment, acquires an image, and relates the resulting intensity or lifetime signal to local oxygen levels. The spatial measurements are then examined for oxygen-rich, oxygen-depleted, and hypoxic regions. This sequence connects probe behavior with transport and cellular activity in the model.
The approach can be applied across cells, tissues, biomaterials, microfluidic environments, engineered tissues, and organoids. Oxygen-sensitive probes provide the optical readout, while the surrounding model supplies the biological or material context. Comparing these settings can show how geometry, cellular activity, or engineered structure affects oxygen distribution without reducing the analysis to a single bulk measurement.
By showing where oxygen becomes depleted, the measurements reveal spatial limitations in an engineered construct or culture environment. Engineers can use that information to evaluate whether a perfusion system, scaffold, or bioreactor supports adequate oxygen availability throughout the model. The resulting maps provide design-relevant evidence about diffusion and oxygen delivery rather than relying only on nominal operating conditions.
Oxygen maps can be interpreted alongside cell survival, metabolism, and tissue function because oxygen availability influences each of these outcomes. Comparing oxygen-rich and hypoxic regions helps researchers investigate whether local oxygen differences correspond to changes in cellular condition or engineered tissue performance. This links an environmental measurement to functional assessment of cells, organoids, and tissue constructs.