Counting the Dead...Faster

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a hot topic. In this publication alone, more than 14 articles mentioning apoptosis have been published within the past year. It is therefore little wonder that new kits for apoptosis detection seem to be introduced on a daily basis. One of the most popular methods for detecting apoptosis is the caspase activity assay. Caspases are cellular enzymes that, when activated, initiate a proteolytic cascade that ultimately leads to apoptosis; caspases are thus use

Written byAileen Constans

| 2 min read

Save for Later

Listen with Speechify

0:00

2:00

Madison, Wis.-based Promega Corp.'s latest offering in this field is the Apo-ONE™ Homogeneous Caspase-3/7 Assay, a kit that, as its name suggests, detects caspase-3 and -7 activity in cell culture. The assay employs a substrate, Z-DEVD-Rhodamine 110, which fluoresces upon cleavage by caspase-3/7; the amount of fluorescence is proportional to the amount of caspase activity present in the sample. The system includes a proprietary lysis/activity buffer that allows one-step, or homogeneous, detection of caspase activity, unlike currently available kits that require multiple steps. "That's one of the key factors that pharmaceutical companies are looking for in their screening applications," explains product manager Pam Guthmiller. "The fewer steps they have in their screening applications, the more cost- effective it is for them to screen multiple compounds," she says. Furthermore, reducing the number of steps produces a faster assay: Apo-ONE can provide results in as little as one hour. Finally, the assay ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member?