Continuous Oxygen Sensing

The most common method for measuring cell proliferation (see profile, page 27) monitors the metabolism of a yellow tetrazolium salt (MTT) to blue-colored formazan. Unfortunately this is a time-consuming endpoint assay, precluding kinetic studies. Bedford, Mass.-based BD Biosciences-Discovery Labware has developed a novel detection system that solves this problem. The BD Oxygen Biosensor uses an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent dye (tris-1,7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline ruthenium (II) chloride) embe

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Katherine Tsaioun, a scientist at GPC-Biotech in Cambridge, Mass., has used the plates for antibacterial whole cell screening. According to Tsaioun, one of the strains of bacteria tested showed decreased oxygen consumption two hours after inoculation. "This could mean a significant increase in throughput, compared with traditional overnight OD-based readout screens. This technology [was] especially useful during follow-up, when we used the plates in kinetic mode. Kinetic experiments using BD plates allowed us to analyze the mechanism and dynamics of cell growth inhibition," she comments.

The system was developed with drug discovery in mind and is thus ideal for automation. As product development manager Mark Timmins explains, because the Biosensor reads out in real time, "The signal changes dynamically as the system changes, and it can be read many times in the course of however long that particular reaction might go, [giving the user] multiple time points from the same ...

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  • Aileen Constans

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