Aarhus, Denmark

Bedford, United Kingdom

Innsbruck , Austria

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Utrecht, Netherlands

Konstanz, Germany

Hamburg, Germany

Zürich, Switzerland

Stockholm , Sweden

Reims, France

Vienna, Austria

Moscow , Russia

San Diego, CA, United States

Chicago, IL, United States

San Diego, CA, United States

Chicago, IL, United States

Mammalian cell culture has long been an invaluable tool in cell biology, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. Advances in our understanding of cell physiology and failures in clinical trials have provided the impetus to move away from our standard 2-dimensional (2D) systems to a more in-vivo-like or 3-dimensional (3D) environment. The advance of new technologies and screening methodologies have allowed scientists to assess more realistic cellular functionality. Today’s webinar will focus on the cellular microenvironment and its importance when developing and screening cell-based assays using primary, stem cell, and immortalized cultures in 3D systems.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is an antibody-based reaction that allows the detection and quantitation of numerous analytes with the same basic assay process. The reaction uses a solid surface, typically a microplate, to immobilize the analyte. Once immobilized, unwanted materials can be removed by washing and the remaining analyte quantitated. The assay technology uses antibodies in conjunction with enzyme-catalyzed amplification to provide high specificity and high sensitivity. Here we will describe the basic process steps of ELISA, best laboratory practices along with troubleshooting tips for common problems. In addition, some of the devices and instrumentation used with this assay technology will be described.

The use of cells cultured into a three-dimensional (3D) configuration continues to gain acceptance within multiple areas of life science research and drug discovery. Assay procedures commonly performed with two-dimensional (2D) cultured cells are rapidly migrating to 3D because of the reestablishment of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions, and in vivo-like results these cell models afford. Examples include cell migration studies, stem cell differentiation, and toxicity assessments.

Characterizing cell proliferation is a crucial aspect of biological research and therapeutic drug development. Most current cell proliferation assays rely on indirect biochemical metrics that are limited by artifacts or imaging-based endpoint measures. In this webinar, we will describe a continuous live-cell assay for determining cell proliferation profiles using high contrast brightfield imaging. This fully automated method enables long-term quantitative analysis of cell growth using non-invasive methods to directly count cells or assess % confluence.

The science of cell biology relies heavily on microscopy to visualize structure and function of cells. Qualitative assessments can be made with traditional microscopes that rely on oculars to visualize cells and how they behave in homeostasis or under stress. To quantify these processes, it is necessary to digitize images so processing and analysis routines can be employed.

BioTek's Lionheart™ FX Automated Live Cell Imager simplifies live cell imaging by providing a fully integrated solution. While the sample environment is effectively controlled to maintain cell health, all optical components are kept in separate conditions optimal for high resolution microscopy. The Lionheart FX also possesses versatile software allowing the easy creation of time-lapse movies and powerful image analysis enabling quantitative phenotypic assays. These capabilities will be demonstrated in the webinar by several applications including perfusion and wound healing assays.

In this webinar we will demonstrate imaging and analysis procedures using the CometAssay® from Trevigen®. Following staining, automated imaging of each well is performed using the Cytation cell imaging multi-mode reader. Built in Gen5 software, used for analysis and instrument control, then carries out commonly accepted calculations; such as % DNA in the comet tail and tail moment. The combined process can then be used to generate automated, high throughput comet-based genotoxicity data.