Roche new instrument adapts real-time cell analysis to high-throughput format

The new instrument merges the power and flexibility of xCELLigence System technology with high-throughput analyses and workflows for automated screening apps.

It allows researchers to run 1 to 4 plates independently on up to four RTCA HT stations, thus reading 4 x384 well plates in parallel and helps in ntegration with automated plate and liquid handling systems.

The company claims the cell-based xCELLigence System assays integrate micro electronics and cell biology, offering a number of advantages over conventional cell analysis systems.

It is suitable for monitoring of real-time kinetics and processes in living cells and supplies a concentrated stream of information and shows enhanced sensitivity and reproducibility for monitoring the overall cell population of a cell culture.

Roche Diagnostics Cellular Analysis Life Cycle leader Ruedi Stoffel said the new RTCA HT Instrument has the potential to become the benchmark system in real-time label-free, automated HTS and automated long-term cytotoxicity screening.

The heart of the system is a microelectronic biosensor built into each well of the E-Plate microtiter plates.

In combination with the RTCA DP Instrument and CIM-Plate 16, the xCELLigence System product line also allows cancer researchers to conduct direct studies of cell migration and invasion, eliminating the need for labeling cells, a process that can induce non-physiological changes in the cells.