Development of a cell-subculture bell (C-Bell) device using low-cost RGB color sensors

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Development of a cell-subculture bell (C-Bell) device using low-cost RGB color sensors

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

Monitoring cell culture status is fundamental in biological and biotechnological research to ensure experimental reproducibility and reliability. However, existing subculturing methods, based on manual observation of cell morphology and media color, are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and prone to variability due to subjective interpretation. In this study, we developed and validated C-Bell, a non-invasive, low cost, Arduino-based automated monitoring system that measures and analyzes color changes in cell culture media in real time. This system uses an integrated RGB color sensor to quantitatively detect pH-dependent media color changes associated with cell metabolic activity, converting the data into a standardized index, the C-Bell Index. To evaluate the performance of the C-Bell device, we first used control and acidified media to verify the RGB sensor’s ability to detect and quantify color changes. Furthermore, we applied the system to lung cancer cell lines seeded at various densities, measuring and analyzing media acidification under actual cell culture conditions using the C-Bell Index. The C-Bell index-based real-time cell culture media analysis results were cross-validated using microscopic observations. The C-Bell device enables continuous automated monitoring of culture plates in a CO₂ incubator, eliminating the need for labor-intensive and subjective manual inspections. It reduces experimenter bias, lowers labor demands, and enhances experimental reproducibility. The modular and scalable design of C-Bell enables adaptation to diverse culture conditions and laboratory environments, providing a practical, reliable tool for automated cell culture monitoring in basic and translational research.

Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article. We have purchased a publication license for drawing software (BioRender) and obtained written permission from the image copyright holder (Biorender) to publish this image under a CC BY Open Access license. Figure 1 was created with BioRender.com.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Bio & Medical Technology Development Program of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NO. RS-2023-00222910). This work was supported by the Technology development Program: Deep Tech Challenge Project (DCP) (RS-2025-25459577) funded by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups(MSS, Korea). This research was supported by a grant (RS-2024-00332142) from ministry of food and drug safety. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. RS-2023-00212410). This work was supported by Chungnam National University.

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Author notes

  1. * In-Seong Koo and Sung Jae Chang are co-first authors and contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnam, 13120, Republic of Korea

    In-Seong Koo, Sung Jae Chang, Na Min Park & Dong Woo Lee

  2. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Jin-Ku Lee

  3. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Jin-Ku Lee

  4. Graduate School of New Drug Discovery and Development, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34134, Republic of Korea

    Sang-Yun Lee

Authors

  1. In-Seong Koo
  2. Sung Jae Chang
  3. Na Min Park
  4. Jin-Ku Lee
  5. Sang-Yun Lee
  6. Dong Woo Lee

Contributions

I.-S.K. S.J.C. N.M.P. S.-Y.L. and D.W.L. designed the research study. I.-S.K. S.J.C. N.M.P. S.-Y.L. and D.W.L. performed the research. J.-K.L. S.-Y.L. and D.W.L. provided help and advice on research protocols, data interpretation and discussion. I.-S.K. N.M.P. S.-Y.L. and D.W.L. analyzed the data. I.-S.K. S.-Y.L. and D.W.L. wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sang-Yun Lee or Dong Woo Lee.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Koo, IS., Chang, S.J., Park, N.M. et al. Development of a cell-subculture bell (C-Bell) device using low-cost RGB color sensors. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38353-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38353-6

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