Investigation of doxorubicin for multi-drug resistance using a fluorescent cytometric imaging system integrated onto cell culture analog devices

An integrated cytometric fluorescent imaging system is developed for characterizing chemical concentration and cellular status in microscale cell culture analog (μCCA) devices. A μCCA is used to evaluate the potential toxicity and efficacy of proposed pharmaceutical treatment of animals or humans. The imaging system, based on discrete optical components, not only provides a robust and compact tool for real-time measurements, but the modularity of the system also offers flexibility to be applicable to various μCCA structures that may be appropriate to various animal or human models. We investigate the dynamics of doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic agent, on cultured cells in a μCCA using the integrated cytometric fluorescent imaging system. This study incorporates two uteran cancer cell lines representing a sensitive cell type and a multi-drug resistant (MDR) derivative cell line. The ultimate goal is to test the effect of MDR modulators in combination with doxorubicin to kill cancer cells while not causing undue harm to normal cells.