The multiparameter Cytotoxicity 1 assay is the latest in Cellomics's series of HitKits, to quantify multiple hallmark indicators of drug toxicity in cells
The new multiparameter Cytotoxicity 1 assay allows users to simultaneously quantify four hallmarks of cytotoxicity: nuclear size/ morphology, cell membrane permeability, lysosomal mass-pH, and cell density (number of cells per field).
The multiplexed measurements provided by the novel Cytotoxicity assay are performed in cultured cells and have been optimised for use with the fully automated ArrayScan high content screening system.
The assay, which includes calibration wells, enables quantification of the effects of testing compounds on a cell-by-cell basis when used with the ArrayScan HCS system.
The Cytotoxicity assay represents a new class of high value assays from Cellomics because it is broadly applicable throughout the early drug discovery process and in all therapeutic disciplines.
Many pharmaceutical companies have adopted a philosophy of killing 'unacceptable' drugs earlier in the discovery process so as to improve attrition rates, as is evidenced by the increasing trend toward in vitro toxicity assays.
These typically occur further upstream in the discovery process than traditional animal studies.
The ArrayScan HCS system, a proprietary system developed by Cellomics, performs automated acquisition, analysis, and presentation of information on multiple spatial and temporal events in individual cells.
ArrayScan was developed to provide reliable insight into the efficacy and toxicity of drug candidates.
Measurement of these complex cellular responses provides researchers with additional knowledge that can be critical to accurately determine which targets to investigate and which lead compounds to pursue.
