Combine Label-Free Real-Time Monitoring of Cells with Visual Inspection in One Device for the First Time

The E-Plate VIEW 96 from Roche represents a modified version of the E-Plate 96 and is a single use, disposable device used for performing cell analysis assays on the Real-Time Cell Analyzer (RTCA) Single Plate (SP) and Multiple Plate (MP) Instruments. This plate also offers the ability to combine label-free real-time monitoring of cells with visual inspection in one device for the first time.

It enables for downstream or intermediate visual inspection of cells using microscopes and automated cell imaging systems like Roche’s Cellavista Instrument. Precise quantitative information is provided during all phases of comprehensive experiments about the status of cells: including cell number, cell adhesion, cell viability, and cell morphology. A label or fixation of cells is not needed.

For the modification, four rows of microelectrode sensors were removed in each well to form a “window” for visual inspection. The gold electrode covers approximately 70 % of the bottom area. The E-Plate VIEW 96 has identical outer dimensions as the E-Plate 96 and allows therefore working with both plates in parallel in RTCA SP and MP Instruments without adapters.

“The new E-Plate features an innovative and unique approach that allows combining impedance-based real-time monitoring with visual inspection of cells,” states Ruedi Stoffel, Life Cycle Leader Cellular Analysis of Roche Applied Science. “We expect that in the long run, the xCELLigence System with the E-Plate VIEW will become the platform of choice also for those users currently working with traditional methods such as cell microscopy or end point assays.” According to Stoffel, the new E-Plate formate will find its use mainly in cancer research, in basic research (developmental biology, receptor biology, embryology), in dermatology, and in neurobiology.