A new reusable sensor for real-time in-line glucose monitoring has recently been launched by lab equipment manufacturer Hamilton. The sensor, which the company says is the first of its kind, aims to provide much simpler process monitoring of mammalian cell cultures than existing techniques.
“Our customers know Hamilton produces process sensors, and they asked for a way to control glucose that’s as easy-to-handle as our simple oxygen probe,” explains Giovanni Campolongo, senior market segment manager at Hamilton.
The new compact probe consists of an optical sensor based on infrared spectrometry, Campolongo explains. It doesn’t require an external spectrometer, which requires trained staff and can potentially need months of calibration before use.
“Because it’s focused wholly on glucose monitoring, any technician familiar with a pH probe can use it, and it’s available to use from day one, with no need for calibration,” Campolongo says.
The sensor, he adds, conceptually resembles existing products from Hamilton Company, such as sensors for automatic control of pH, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
It is designed to meet the needs of existing and new customers who would currently typically do their glucose monitoring with a Nova BioProfile® FLEX2 or other automated multi-parameter cell culture analyzer.
According to Campolongo, “If you’re going to do research or need multiple parameters, then you’ll still want to use a spectrometer as you can monitor several things at once.”
“Our GlucoSense sensor isn’t conceptually designed for those applications—it’s for when you want to control a single parameter, glucose, during your process, and don’t want to come in at the evening or weekend to perform offline monitoring.”
The technology, he explains, is also more robust than more complex technologies as it doesn’t have, for example, a fiber optic cable connecting the sensor to the transmitter. Instead, the sensor is directly connected to the transmitter to reduce interference and the risk of cable damage.
The GlucoSense sensor was launched in December. Campolongo will be talking more about the new sensor at the 2026 Bioprocessing Summit Europe.
