PHC Corporation of North America’s LiCellMo live cell metabolic analyzer earned a 2025 R&D 100 Award for its ability to continuously monitor cellular metabolism in real time. At the R&D 100 gala in Scottsdale, I had the chance to speak with Derek Sokolowski, Project Manager for Cell Culture at PHC Corporation of North America, about the product. The device uses 24 proprietary in-line sensors that provide continuous monitoring of glucose and lactate concentrations in culture medium, giving researchers a precise picture of previously unobservable changes in the state of cells over time.
“Typically what happens is there are periodic measurements where you get only part of the picture when it comes to the health of the cell,” Sokolowski said. “By using this device, you’re able to get the entire picture from start to finish without disturbing the cell or causing any kind of issues with reproducing results.”
The system can be easily installed in a laboratory’s existing CO2 incubator with no changes to the usual culture environment, an advantage for cell and gene therapy researchers. Sokolowski said the most rewarding part of development was seeing tangible results: “Being able to actually see that the results would show that there are differences, especially when trying different things such as different drugs or using different types of cell types.”
PHC is also developing LiCell Grow, a bioreactor cell expansion system that will enable researchers to grow cells while adding products at specific time points during continuous measurement.
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