Reporter assays using a single reporter, be it from a stable cell line or transient transfection, can benefit from normalization. Obviously, we are not talking about adding a second control reporter but normalizing to the number of live or dead cells in the well. Two cell health assays, CellTiter-Fluor™ Cell Viability Assay and CellTox™ Green Cytotoxicity Assay, are ideally suited for multiplexing with reporter assays.
Continue reading “2 Ways to Save Your Single Reporter Data”cell health
Choosing the Right Cell Health Assay
Based on the Illuminations article by Dr. Terry Riss, from our Cellular Analysis group.
Choosing the most appropriate cell health assay for your experiment can be difficult. There are several factors to consider when choosing an assay: the question you are asking, the nature of your sample, the number of samples being tested, the required sensitivity, the nature of the sample, the plates and plate readers and the reagent costs.
What question are you asking?
The first, and perhaps most important factor to consider, is the question you need answered. What do you want to know at the end of the experiment? There are cell health assays available that specifically detect the number of living cells, the number of dead cells, and for assessing stress response mechanisms or pathways that may lead to cell death. Matching the assay endpoint to the information you need is vital to choosing the appropriate cell health assay.
Continue reading “Choosing the Right Cell Health Assay”Considerations for Successful Cell-Based Assays I: Choosing Your Cells
For those of us entering the world of cell-based assays from a classical or molecular genetics background, the world of cell culture can be daunting. Yet to truly understand how the genetic mutation behind a particular phenotype works, we need to look at the biochemistry and cell biology where it all occurs: the cell.
This series of blogs will cover several topics to consider when designing your cell-based assays. In this first installment, we discuss the basics of choosing the cell type for your assay.
Continue reading “Considerations for Successful Cell-Based Assays I: Choosing Your Cells”