Studies investigating endogenous cellular regulatory mechanisms have substantially pushed the application of high-throughput screens. RNA interference has developed into an extremely powerful tool for mediating the loss-of-function of specific mRNA molecules and preventing their translation into proteins. Numerous studies have helped to uncover novel gene functions in many biological processes, but most have used single endpoint analysis as readout for the respective phenotypes to characterize the outcome of a cascade of regulatory mechanisms.
The xCELLigence System offers a new way to analyze the effect of gene knock downs on living cells, as the system provides continuous, quantitative information about the electrical impedance at the bottom surface of microtiter plates. Thus, any change in cell number, cell morphology or cell attachment can be detected in real-time. more