The IncuCyte live-cell imaging system is a specialized laboratory instrument combining a microscope with a cell incubator. This allows researchers to observe living cells directly within their stable, controlled environment over extended periods. It enables continuous, real-time monitoring of cellular behavior and responses without disturbing the cells.
How the IncuCyte System Works
The IncuCyte system operates as a compact microscope inside a standard cell culture incubator. This ensures cells remain in optimal conditions, maintaining precise temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels throughout an experiment. The instrument automatically moves across multiple cell culture plates, capturing images at regular, pre-programmed intervals.
The system uses various imaging techniques. Phase-contrast imaging provides label-free visualization of cell shape, density, and morphology without dyes. Fluorescence imaging tracks specific labeled molecules or cells, using different channels to highlight cellular components or processes. The IncuCyte accommodates up to six plates simultaneously, offering high-throughput capabilities.
Key Research Applications
The IncuCyte system supports a range of experiments in cell biology. One common application is measuring cell proliferation and confluence, which assesses how quickly cells cover a dish surface. This is quantified by tracking the total area covered by cells over time, providing insights into their growth rates.
The system is also used for cytotoxicity assays, which evaluate how a drug or compound affects cell survival. Researchers monitor cell death or viability continuously, often by incorporating fluorescent reagents. IncuCyte is also employed in cell migration and invasion studies, such as wound healing or scratch assays. In these experiments, a gap is created in a cell layer, and the system measures the rate at which cells move to close this gap, providing data on their migratory capabilities.
Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, can be observed in real-time using fluorescent reagents. The IncuCyte system also facilitates monitoring of spheroid formation and growth, which involves three-dimensional cell cultures. These 3D models resemble complex biological structures, offering a physiologically relevant environment for studying cell behavior and drug responses.
Analyzing Real-Time Cellular Changes
The IncuCyte system generates “kinetic” data, with measurements taken continuously over time. This provides a dynamic view of cellular processes, unlike traditional methods that offer only a single snapshot. Outputs include high-quality images and time-lapse videos, demonstrating cellular activities over hours, days, or weeks.
The system’s integrated software automatically converts captured images into quantitative graphs. It can transform visual information about cell coverage into a graph showing cell confluence versus time. This automated analysis provides objective, numerical data, allowing researchers to quantify changes in cell morphology, count, and fluorescent intensity over extended periods.
IncuCyte Versus Traditional Endpoint Assays
The IncuCyte system offers advantages when compared to older, conventional laboratory techniques, particularly “endpoint assays.” Endpoint assays involve stopping an experiment at a single point in time to take a measurement, providing only a static view of cellular events. In contrast, the IncuCyte provides continuous monitoring, capturing every moment of a cellular process without interruption.
Traditional methods like manual microscopy often require removing cells from their stable incubator environment, which can stress them and alter their natural behavior. The IncuCyte remains inside the incubator, ensuring cells are undisturbed and maintain their physiological relevance throughout the experiment. Techniques such as flow cytometry provide detailed information about individual cells, but they require harvesting and destroying the cells. The IncuCyte’s non-invasive imaging allows the same cells to be observed repeatedly, preserving the sample for further analysis or long-term studies.