What motivated you to use the Cellbox™?

Picture from left to right. Asst. Prof.Anne Beghin & Asst. Prof. Gianluca Greni
Mechanobiology Institute, NUS

We needed a reliable way to transport live cells for our field missions, matching the conditions of a standard lab incubator. Our research focuses on understanding the effects of microgravity on cells and 3D constructs, which requires very precise environmental control in these conditions.

That's why the Cellbox™ portable incubator was absolutely essential for our parabolic flight experiments.

Could you give us some background information on your research?

Our research has developed micro-optical cell culture dishes over the past decade, enabling advanced imaging of live samples. This includes light-sheet microscopy, unique to our microfabricated devices. Recently, we've shifted towards exploring 3D biological tissues and organoids to better replicate physiological conditions.

Our platform's ability to keep organoids in fixed positions makes it ideal for experiments in microgravity, ensuring high-quality imaging.

Our work aims to understand the impact of microgravity on cellular homeostasis, which has implications for long-term space missions. For instance, cells seem to rejuvenate in space, while physiological aging appears accelerated in astronauts.

Our research seeks to resolve these contradictions by investigating how the removal of gravitational forces affects cell behavior and gene expression.

What is the value of Cellbox™ for you in this context?

The value of using the Cellbox™ in our research lies in its convenience and reliability. It ensures that our cells are maintained under consistent conditions during extreme environments like parabolic flights, matching lab incubator settings. This allows us to focus on isolating the factors we are studying, such as acceleration and microgravity, without worrying about environmental control.

The Cellbox™ is a standard, accepted piece of equipment that provides precise temperature and CO₂ control with data logging, making it an essential, hassle-free component of our research campaigns.

Could you briefly explain your recent publication?

Our paper presents the first results from our parabolic flight using the Cellbox™ incubator. It focuses on three main aspects: the micro-optical system, the biological questions addressed, and the imaging and analysis pipeline. We can image up to 1,000 organoids simultaneously, generating vast amounts of data.

Our AI-based system automates image analysis, tracking cell activities like mitosis and apoptosis over time.

This paper demonstrates the complete workflow from sample preparation to data analysis, highlighting the Cellbox's role in maintaining necessary conditions during our experiments.

Would you recommend Cellbox™ & why?

Absolutely. The Cellbox™ provides reliable temperature, humidity, and CO₂ control, crucial for our experiments.

Its convenience and reliability allow us to focus on our research without worrying about maintaining the environment. It's a practical solution for conducting complex biological experiments in extreme conditions.

Mille grazie per l'intervista

More Informations

A recent publication on bioRxiv: Part Method-section
Parabolic Flight Video created by MBI
Parabolic Flight Video created by UZH Space Hub