| Cell Name | Cell Type | Pore sizes typically used | Assays typically performed |
| MDA-MB-231 | Invasive Breast cancer cell line (human) | 5 or 8 µm | 5 or 8 µm used in chemotaxis or invasion assay |
| MCF7 | Non-invasive breast cancer cell line (human) | 5 or 8 µm | 5 or 8 µm used in chemotaxis or invasion assay |
| HT1080 | Invasive fibrosarcoma cell line (human) | 5 or 8 µm | 5 or 8 µm used in chemotaxis or invasion assay |
| NIH3T3 | Non-invasive fibroblast cell line (mouse) | 5 or 8 µm | 5 or 8 µm used in chemotaxis or invasion assay |
| HUVEC (Human vein umbilical vein endothelial cells) | Endothelial cells | 3 or 5 or 8 µm | 3 or 5 or 8 µm in chemotaxis, invasion, angiogenesis or transendothelial migration assays |
| HMVEC/HMEC(Human dermal microvascular endothelial cell) | Endothelial cells | 5 or 8 µm | 5 or 8 µm in chemotaxis, invasion, angiogenesis or transendothelial migration assays |
| PMN | Polymorphonuclear neutrophils | 1 or 3 µm | 1 or 3 µm in chemotaxis assays |
| - | Primary Stromal cells | 8 µm | No information available |
| - | Epithelial cells | 3 or 5 µm | No information available |
| - | Human coronary artery smooth muscle cells | 5 µm | No information available |
| Hepatic stellate cells | Myofibroblast | 5 µm | No infor |
| Assay Terminology commonly used with reference to MultiScreen-MIC plates | Chemotaxis: Directed movement of cells in response to a concentration gradient.
Migration: Random movement of cells.
Invasion: The movement of cells across a barrier (e.g. extracellular matrix) in response to a concentration gradient.
Transmigration: The movement of cells across another cell barrier in response to a concentration gradient.
Angiogenesis: Tubule formation exhibited by HUVEC (Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells) in response to cell stimulating factors.
Co-culture: When you have more than one cell type in your assay it is called co-culture. These assays are typically run to assess cell-cell interactions and factors secreted by one cell influencing the behavior of the other cell. |
| What is the MultiScreenTM-MIC plate? | It is a 96 well sterile single use device that allows you to perform a variety of assays such as migration, invasion, chemotaxis, angiogenesis, transendothelial migration and co-culture type of assays. It has a filter plate* with 96 wells fitted with membrane. These wells serve as upper wells in your assay. It has a 96 well tear drop receiver plate. These wells serve as the lower wells in your assay. The membrane is the separation component between the two wells. These devices are available in a variety of pore sizes (3, 5 and 8 mm pore sizes available as cataloged products. 1, 2 and 12 mm pore sizes available by special order) in an uncoated format. The plates are available in packs of 10 with each device individually wrapped in a blister pack to ensure sterility. The plates are tissue culture treated (using a proprietary methodology) to support use with suspension and adherent cells.
*There is no underdrain on these filter plates, as the application does not require use of vacuum. |
| What type of assays can I perform on the MultiScreen-MIC plates? | he MultiScreenTM-MIC plates can be used for a variety of assays such as migration, invasion, chemotaxis, angiogenesis, transendothelial migration and co-culture type of assays. |
| What type of screening can I perform with the MultiScreenTM-MIC plates? | Some examples of screening that can be done on MIC plates are compound library screening, protein library screening or antibody library screening. You can measure the effect of the compound, protein or antibodies on cell behavior in functional assays such as migration, invasion, chemotaxis, angiogenesis, transendothelial migration and co-culture type of assays. |
| What is the pore density in the MultiScreenTM-MIC plates? | Pore size Nominal pore density per cm2 3 mm MIC 2 X 106 5 mm MIC 4 X 105 8 mm MIC 1 X 105 |
| What is the surface area of membrane in the MultiScreenTM-MIC plates? | The surface area of membrane in the MultiScreenTM-MIC is 0.3 cm2 |
| What cell density should I use in my assay when using the MultiScreenTM-MIC plates? | Every cell type calls for a different cell density. Before you set up your actual assay, you must run standardization experiments testing a range of cell densities and assess which cell concentration gives you the optimal results. You can adjust the cell: pore ratio to optimize your signal to background values. Pore densities for the different pore sizes are listed below.
We have used invasive and non-invasive breast cancer cell lines (MDAMB231 and MCF7), epithelial cell line (HT1080) and fibroblast cell lines (NIH3T3) in our MIC plates. We typically use 50,000 cells/well.
| Pore size | Pore density per cm | | 3 mm MIC | 2 X 106 | | 5 mm MIC | 4 X 105 | | 8 mm MIC | 1 X 105 |
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| What volumes should I use in my assay when using the MultiScreen-MIC plates? | We typically use 50 µl in the top well and 150 µl in the bottom well. |
C7748High throughput assays for migration, invasion and more
The use of cell-based assays in life science and drug discovery research is important in the understanding of disease mechanisms. Cell-based assays play an important role in drug discovery secondary screening studies of promising drug compounds.
Millipore offers plate formats and membranes that allow a wide range of functional cell-based assay protocols to be performed.
Applications
- Cell viability and proliferation assays
- Migration assays
- Invasion assays
- Chemotaxis assays
- Whole cell incubation assays
- Whole organism assays
- Assays using conventional fluorescent or time-resolved fluorescent detection systems
MultiScreen Plates
- Incubate, filter, wash, and assay 96 samples simultaneously, saving time and money
- Range of membrane pore sizes and plate formats available for whole organism, invasion, migration, and chemotaxis assays
- Proven protocols available
- Compatible with automated liquid handling systems
Using filter plates for cell-based assays in life science and drug discovery research can decrease sample-to-sample variability, reduce background through more thorough washing, increase throughput and enable automation. MultiScreen® filter plates and kits are available in a range of pore sizes to support assays with suspension and adherent cell lines and support cell growth for co-culture and transmigration assays. MultiScreen® -MIC filter plates are designed for broad assay compatibility and are available in three membrane pore sizes. The 96-well plates increase throughput 4x over 24-well systems, without sacrificing membrane surface area.
