Automated Kinetic Imaging Assay of Cell Proliferation in 384-Well Format

Evasion of cell death is a hallmark of cancer cells that enables them to overcome endogenous barriers to cancer development and to resist treatment. Insights into the many facets of cell death, particularly cancer cell evasion mechanisms, are therefore critical to unlock new avenues for treatments. 

Agilent presents a fully automated, kinetic imaging assay to monitor both cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis in a high-throughput, 384-well format, to deepen insights while boosting productivity. This innovative workflow couples long-term, kinetic, label-free cell counting with fluorescence imaging to monitor cancer cell responses over several days, leveraging the powerful combination of the Agilent BioTek Cytation 5 cell imaging multimode reader, BioSpa 8 automated incubator, and Gen5 software. 

Elevate your insights and productivity with the following features of this innovative assay: 

• The wide-field-of-view camera of the Cytation imaging system enables the entire well area in a 384-well microplate to be captured in a single image, minimizing capture time and improving compatibility for small culture vessels for high-throughput applications. 

• Coupling the Cytation 5 and BioSpa 8 for fully automated environmental control facilitates a walk-away workflow of high-throughput image-based analysis. 

• Gen5 software and cell analysis routines allow for quick, automated identification of cell counts for both brightfield and fluorescence-based images. 

This application note demonstrates the use of this workflow to monitor both the proliferation and cell death of a fibrosarcoma cancer cell line in response to multiple antineoplastic drugs in a high-throughput format, producing excellent robust results.