Fig. 1.

Setup and workflow for long-term culture and parallel time-lapse imaging. a 3D printed chip carrier. The carrier was printed using the biocompatible thermoplast ABS and has the dimensions of a standard multi-titer plate. It provides wells for two biochips and a standard 6 cm cell culture dish (see ‘h’ in b). During life-cell imaging the culture dish is filled with 4 ml water, serving as a reference for the thermistor (see ‘k’ in b) and the environment control infrastructure of the microscope. Cells are imaged through a pinhole at the bottom of the carrier. b Setup for establishing static and periodic culturing conditions during time-lapse long-term imaging. (a) medium waste bottle, (b) peristaltic pump, (c) medium reservoir bottle, (d) waste tubing, (e) perfusion tubing, (f) imaging chamber, (g) 3D printed chip carrier, (h) water reservoir for thermistor, (i) chip for perfusion culture, (j) chip for static culture, (k) thermistor cable and connector. c Experimental workflow for comparative cell growth analysis. Details see text