nanoAnalytics
nanoAnalytics was founded in 1999 as an independent testing laboratory focusing on characterization of surfaces from the centimeter to the nanometer scale. They have outstanding experience in the field of surface and nano analytics. Experience and most modern analytical techniques allow them to analyze a broad spectrum of sample systems.
cellZscope® – The Automated Cell Monitoring System
The cellZscope is a device for measuring the transepithelial / -endothelial impedance of cell layers under physiological
conditions. It is computer-controlled and allows automated, long-term monitoring experiments with up to 24 different cell cultures
simultaneously.
Various types of barrier-forming cells cultured on permeable membranes can be analyzed. The ohmic resistance (TER, transepithelial / -endothelial resistance) and capacitance (Ccl) of the cell layers under investigation are provided as convenient readout parameters.
The cellZscope is easy to operate and has a broad range of possible applications. In particular, it is ideally suited for studying the influence of substances such as drugs, toxins etc. on the barrier function of cell layers.
Epithelial and endothelial cell layers form selectively permeable barriers. Transport of molecules and ions from the apical to the basolateral side and vice versa requires passage either through the cells (transcellular route) or between the cells and thus through tight junctions (paracellular route).
Automated multi-well device to measure transepithelial electrical resistances under physiological
conditions
Joachim Wegener, Dimitri Abrams, Wolfgang Willenbrink, Hans-Joachim Galla, and Andreas Janshoff
BioTechniques 37:590-597 (October 2004)
Abstract:
Measurement of transendothelial or transepithelial electrical resistances (TERs) is a
straightforward in situ experimental approach to monitor the expression or modulation of barrier-forming cell-to-cell contacts
(tight junctions) in cultured cells grown on porous filters. Although widely accepted, there is currently no device available
to automatically measure the time course of TERs under ordinary cell culture conditions (37°C, 5% or 10% CO2). This paper
describes a development from our laboratory that is capable of following in parallel the TERs of several filter-grown cell
layers with time and in an entirely computer-controlled fashion. The cell cultures can be followed even in long-term
experiments without any manual assistance or opening of the incubator. Besides reading TER values, this approach also returns
the electrical capacitance of the cell layers, which is indicative of the expression of microvilli and other membrane
extrusions. The device is based on reading the frequency-dependent impedance of the cell layer, followed by equivalent circuit
modeling to extract the cell-related parameters. It is compatible with several multi-well formats (up to 96 wells) and
controlled by custom-designed software that reads, analyzes, and presents the data.