In vitro and in vivo bioluminescent quantification of viable stem cells in engineered constructs.

Bioluminescent quantification of viable cells inside three-dimensional porous scaffolds was performed in vitro and in vivo. The assay quantified the bioluminescence of murine stem (C3H10T1/2) cells tagged with the luciferase gene reporter and distributed inside scaffolds of either soft, translucent, AN69 polymeric hydrogel or hard, opaque, coral ceramic materials. Quantitative evaluation of bioluminescence emitted from tagged cells adhering to these scaffolds was performed in situ using either cell lysates and a luminometer or intact cells and a bioluminescence imaging system.