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Cell-based assays monitor cellular responses to a condition or treatment. These assays enable scientists to evaluate the biological activity and therapeutic potential of compounds and expand our understanding of cell, gene and protein function. A wide variety of cell-based assays exist to measure different cell states, behaviors and properties, including viability, migration, transport, immunophenotype and gene expression.
Although such assays are critical in biomedical research and drug discovery, their value can be hampered by experimental variability. Issues ranging from cross-contamination, precision, reproducibility, efficiency and poor scalability can all contribute to variability and reduce the accuracy of results. Use of suboptimal, inefficient or inappropriate liquid handling and cell counting tools are common contributors to variability. In addition, each assay has different requirements for and sensitivities to liquid handling. Thus, the choice of liquid handling instruments such as single channel, multichannel, or adjustable spacer pipettes plus features like adjustable flow rate or automation can have assay-specific impacts on variability and data quality.
This white paper discusses the role of liquid handling and cell counting in common cellular assays. We focus on assay-specific liquid handling challenges, potential sources of variability, and how different liquid handling tools impact data quality and experimental workflows. We provide specific recommendations on what tools to choose and why for a wide variety of assay types.
