The xCELLigence System from ACEA Biosciences is a microelectronic biosensor system for cell -based assays, providing dynamic, real-time, label-free cellular analysis for a variety of research applications in drug development, toxicology, cancer, medical microbiology,and virology.The xCELLigence system uses specially designed microtiter plates containing interdigitated gold microelectrodes to noninvasively monitor the viability of cultured cells using electrical impedance as the readout. The continuous monitoring of cell viability by the xCELLigence system makes it possible to distinguish between different perturbations of cell viability, such as senescence, cell toxicity (cell death), and reduced proliferation (cell cycle arrest). In addition, the time resolution of the xCELLigence system allows for the determination of optimal time points to perform standard cell viability assays as well as other end-point assays to understand the mode  of action.

The xCELLigence RTCA SP and DP systems are available in the Center for Systems Biomedicine.

The RTCA SP (single-plate) Instrument consists of aRTCA Analyzer, a RTCA SP Station, and a RTCA Control Unit, and is designed for the use of one E-Plate 96 (a specialized 96-well plate used with the RTCA Instrument). The RTCA SP Station (Figure 1) together with the E-Plate 96 is placed into a standard cell culture incubator, creating a temperature-, humidity-, and CO2-controlled environment throughout the experiment. The RTCA Control Unit receives the data measured by the RTCA Analyzer and uses the RTCA Software 2.0 for setup, real-timedisplay, and analysis of each experiment.

The RTCA SP Station is located inside a standard cell culture incubator and serves to transmit signals from an E-Plate 96 to the RTCA Analyzer. Using the software of the RTCA Control Unit, the RTCA Analyzer can automatically select wells for measurement and continuously transfer measured impedance data to the computer. Cell Index values, derived from the measured impedances, are continuously displayed on the Software user interface.

RTCA SP (single-plate) Instrument

The RTCA DP Instrument consists of two components: the RTCA Control Unit and the RTCA DP Analyzer with three integrated stations for measuring cell responses in parallel or independently.

Choose from three types of impedance-based 16-well plates:

  • E-Plate 16 and E-Plate VIEW 16 for cellular assays
  • CIM-PLATE 16 for cell invasion/migration assays
  • Use all three different plate types in any combination

Easily achieve optimal cell culture conditions by placing the RTCA DP Analyzer and plates into standard CO2 incubators.

RTCA DP Instrument

The different plates specific to each experiments can also be purchased through the center:

    • E-Plate 96
    • E-Plate VIEW 96
    • CIM-Plate

Services provided by the Center for Systems Biomedicine include:

  1. Free consultation
  2. Help to design your experiment
  3. Run your samples on either the SP or DP instrument or both

The instrument is operated by the core personnel only. Cells should be delivered in suspension along with the protocol for each experiment. The cells will be plated onto the specific plate and run by core personnel. They will help you to analyze your data with the RTCA software 2.0. The plates can be purchased through the center or provided by the customer.

For information regarding our services, prices and samples submissions, please contact Dr. Emmanuelle Faure-Kumar at [email protected]