SpectraMax L Microplate Reader

Bioluminescent cytotoxicity assays offer the user increased detection limits, speed, and accuracy, and have been well documented (Crouch et al., 1993). Healthy cells maintain a high constant ATP concentration in culture. During proliferation, the total ATP in the culture increases in line with cell number. Conversely, dying cells are unable to maintain their high ATP level, as synthesis becomes compromised, and so levels are seen to reduce. The level of ATP present within a culture is indicative of the number of viable cells present, and ATP assays have been shown to be one of the most predictive general cytotoxicity methods

Vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs) are a family of secreted polypeptides that have been implicated in mammalian vascular development and in disease processes involving abnormal blood vessel growth. VEGFs are expressed during embryogenesis, where deletion of even a single VEGF allele severely disrupts vasculogenesis and is embryonic lethal. VEGF₁₆₅ is the most abundant and biologically active isoform of VEGF found in mammals.¹ The QuantiGlo Chemiluminescent VEGF Immunoassay is a solid phase ELISA that measures VEGF₁₆₅ levels in cell culture supernatants, serum, plasma, saliva, and urine. It uses the quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique in which a monoclonal antibody specific for VEGF is coated onto a microplate and standards and samples are added to the wells.² Unbound material is washed away, and a horseradish peroxidase-linked polyclonal antibody-specific for VEGF is added to the wells.

Nuclear and optical imaging are complementary in many aspects and there would be many advantages when optical imaging probes are prepared using radionuclides rather than classic fluorophores, and when nuclear and optical dual images are obtained using single imaging probe.