Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography

Cell counting is one of the basic and essential procedures that researchers in cell biology, bioengineering, and other related fields learn at the outset. Systems based on various measurement principles are commercially available, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of perform...

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Main Authors: Takanobu Takenouchi, Yuta Iijima, Kazuyo Ito, Daisuke Yoshino
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:HardwareX
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000993
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author Takanobu Takenouchi
Yuta Iijima
Kazuyo Ito
Daisuke Yoshino
author_facet Takanobu Takenouchi
Yuta Iijima
Kazuyo Ito
Daisuke Yoshino
author_sort Takanobu Takenouchi
collection DOAJ
description Cell counting is one of the basic and essential procedures that researchers in cell biology, bioengineering, and other related fields learn at the outset. Systems based on various measurement principles are commercially available, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of performance, cost, and footprint. Herein, we developed a cost-effective, scalable, and compact module that enables cell counting with reasonable accuracy, throughput, and sensitivity. This cell counting module had a size of 29 × 48 × 16 mm and a cost of $165 USD. The module can be assembled by simply inserting commercially available optical and electronic components into a housing printed by CNC milling and soft lithography. To take full advantage of this module, we built an automated cell counting system using open-source and commercially available development platforms. The module exhibited a measurement accuracy (i.e., guaranteed accuracy in the concentration range of 0–500 cells/µL) and sorting resolution (i.e., selection of particles with diameters of 5 µm and 15 µm) tolerable for cellular experiments. This low-cost and small-size module can be a sufficient replacement for a routine system in cell experiments. We anticipate our work will benefit research fields such as cell biology and bioengineering.
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issn 2468-0672
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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spelling doaj-art-34a1ac8f4d1a434195f36faccfa46cdb2025-08-20T02:49:08ZengElsevierHardwareX2468-06722024-12-0120e0060510.1016/j.ohx.2024.e00605Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithographyTakanobu Takenouchi0Yuta Iijima1Kazuyo Ito2Daisuke Yoshino3Department of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, JapanDepartment of Food and Energy Systems Science, Graduate School of Bio-Applications and Systems Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, JapanDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Division of Advanced Applied Physics, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, JapanDepartment of Applied Physics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Division of Advanced Applied Physics, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan; Corresponding author at: Division of Advanced Applied Physics, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16 Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8588, Japan.Cell counting is one of the basic and essential procedures that researchers in cell biology, bioengineering, and other related fields learn at the outset. Systems based on various measurement principles are commercially available, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of performance, cost, and footprint. Herein, we developed a cost-effective, scalable, and compact module that enables cell counting with reasonable accuracy, throughput, and sensitivity. This cell counting module had a size of 29 × 48 × 16 mm and a cost of $165 USD. The module can be assembled by simply inserting commercially available optical and electronic components into a housing printed by CNC milling and soft lithography. To take full advantage of this module, we built an automated cell counting system using open-source and commercially available development platforms. The module exhibited a measurement accuracy (i.e., guaranteed accuracy in the concentration range of 0–500 cells/µL) and sorting resolution (i.e., selection of particles with diameters of 5 µm and 15 µm) tolerable for cellular experiments. This low-cost and small-size module can be a sufficient replacement for a routine system in cell experiments. We anticipate our work will benefit research fields such as cell biology and bioengineering.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000993Cell counting moduleCNC millingSoft lithographyCell cultureMicrofluidicsCytometry
spellingShingle Takanobu Takenouchi
Yuta Iijima
Kazuyo Ito
Daisuke Yoshino
Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
HardwareX
Cell counting module
CNC milling
Soft lithography
Cell culture
Microfluidics
Cytometry
title Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
title_full Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
title_fullStr Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
title_full_unstemmed Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
title_short Low-cost automated cell counting module fabricated using CNC milling and soft lithography
title_sort low cost automated cell counting module fabricated using cnc milling and soft lithography
topic Cell counting module
CNC milling
Soft lithography
Cell culture
Microfluidics
Cytometry
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468067224000993
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AT yutaiijima lowcostautomatedcellcountingmodulefabricatedusingcncmillingandsoftlithography
AT kazuyoito lowcostautomatedcellcountingmodulefabricatedusingcncmillingandsoftlithography
AT daisukeyoshino lowcostautomatedcellcountingmodulefabricatedusingcncmillingandsoftlithography