Cellular studies are revolutionized with the launch of new software from Carl Zeiss that automatically extracts biologically relevant data from micrographs by combining high-resolution fluorescence imaging and complex image analysis. Developed with the high content screening specialist, Cellomics®, the AxioVision ASSAYbuilder module inherits 15 years of experience in the field of High-Content Analysis (HCA) to offer the most reliable method of high content analysis and screening.
ASSAYbuilder supports the examination of processes in cells, between cells or in small organisms and will be especially useful in studies such as apoptosis, cytotoxicity, molecule localisation and translocation, cell differentiation and proliferation, GFP expression, and GPCR signal pathways. For example, users can analyse the position of the cytoskeleton or determine the proportion of living and dead cells in a sample. Furthermore, it allows the characterization of cell cultures, the identification of new cellular starting points for the development of future medication, and the identification of lead substances in small or medium screenings in pharmaceutical research.
The ease-of-use designed into ASSAYbuilder means that researchers can concentrate on efficiently planning further experiments and publishing their results rather than having to become expert at the fundamentals of image analysis. However, the software module is sufficiently powerful to cope with even highly sophisticated requirements, such as subpopulation analyses. Depending on the biological task being faced, the ASSAYbuilder platform can be expanded with up to five “Analysts”:
- Physiology Analyst– for processes within or between subcellular compartments
- Morphology Analyst– for morphological parameters of a cell, cell cluster orr small organism
- Cell Cycle Analyst – for automatic determination of cell cycle phases
- Membrane Analyst – to determine the colocalisation of signals within the cell
- Motility Analyst – to measure cell movements.
ASSAYbuilder is compatible with almost all inverted or upright ZEISS imaging systems and stereomicroscopes from Carl Zeiss and other AxioVision software modules. Automated hardware, such as motorised microscope stages, permits the setup of a screening station which can also be designed as a living cell screening station by using incubation components.