Cell Health and Proliferation

They are essential in drug discovery, toxicology, and therapeutic development to detect off-target effects, using assays to measure cell viability or membrane integrity (e.g., LDH release, ATP assay). Alternatively, they can confirm intended on-target cell killing using more specific assays to confirm mechanisms like apoptosis (e.g., Caspase-3 activation, Annexin V). 

‍Available assays include:  

‍Viability assays detecting metabolic changes:  

• ATP production  
• Resazurin reduction  
• Tetrazolium-based assays (MTT/MTS) 

‍Plasma membrane integrity assays: 

• LDH release  
• Dye exclusion (e.g., trypan blue exclusion, PI exclusion)  
• Membrane permeability (e.g., Live/Dead assay)  

‍Organelle integrity assays: 

• Mitochondrial membrane potential   
• Mitochondrial ROS production  
• Lysosomal pH  
• Lysosomal enzyme activity  
• ER stress  

‍Cell death signaling:

• Apoptosis (Caspase-3 activity, Annexin V) 
• Necroptosis (RIPK1 and RIPK3 phosphorylation) 
• Pyroptosis (Caspase- 1 activity, IL-1β/IL-18 release, Gasdermin-D release)  

‍Imaging viable nuclei or cells:

• Fluorescent labelling and live imaging of viable nuclei and cells  
• High Content Imaging for in-depth morphological changes 
• Kinetic measurement of cell density with IncuCyte

Example applications of cell health and proliferation assays   

At Concept Life Sciences, we offer a comprehensive range of instrumentation and cellular systems to help design the most appropriate assay, ensuring alignment with experimental goals and the generation of meaningful data.