Quantitative kinetic analysis of β-glucuronidase activities using a computer-directed microtiter plate reader

We have established a procedure for automated, kinetic analysis of β-glucuronidase (GUS) activities using a colorimetric or fluorometric microtiter plate reader connected to a computer that directs the measurements and accesses the data. Compared with end-point measurements, the procedure saves time, is more accurate, and needs 20 times less material. It allows a more precise determination of GUS activities over a range of 400,000-fold, with a limit of detection of about 0.01 units of GUS per mL in the colorimetric assay and 0.1 milliunit of GUS in the fluorometric assay. A general protocol for the determination of GUS activities in transgenic plant tissue was worked out and applied to investigate the expression of a chimeric β-glucuronidase gene in stably transformed tobacco calli.     

Screening assays for the mitochondrial permeability transition using a fluorescence multiwell plate reader

Opening of permeability transition (PT) pores in the mitochondrial inner membrane causes the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) and leads to mitochondrial swelling, membrane depolarization, and release of intramitochondrial solutes. Here, our aim was to develop high-throughput assays using a fluorescence plate reader to screen potential inducers and blockers of the MPT. Isolated rat liver mitochondria (0.5 mg/ml) were incubated in multiwell plates with tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester (TMRM, 1 microM), a potential-indicating fluorophore, and Fluo-5N (1 microM), a low-affinity Ca(2+) indicator. Incubation led to mitochondrial polarization, as indicated by uncoupler-sensitive quenching of the red TMRM fluorescence. CaCl(2) (100 microM) addition led to ruthenium red-sensitive mitochondrial Ca(2+) uptake, as indicated by green Fluo-5N fluorescence. After Ca(2+) accumulation, mitochondria depolarized, released Ca(2+) into the medium, and began to swell. This swelling was monitored as a decrease in light absorbance at 620 nm. Swelling, depolarization, and Ca(2+) release were prevented by cyclosporin A (1 microM), confirming that these events represented the MPT. Measurements of Ca(2+), mitochondrial membrane potential, and swelling could be made independently from the same wells without cross interference, and all three signals could be read from every well of a 48-well plate in about 1 min. In other experiments, mitochondria were ester-loaded with carboxydichlorofluorescein (carboxy-DCF) during the isolation procedure. Release of carboxy-DCF after PT pore opening led to an unquenching of green carboxy-DCF fluorescence occurring simultaneously with swelling. By combining measurements of carboxy-DCF release, Ca(2+) uptake, membrane potential, and swelling, MPT inducers and blockers can be distinguished from uncouplers, respiratory inhibitors, and blockers of Ca(2+) uptake. This high-throughput multiwell assay is amenable for screening panels of compounds for their ability to promote or block the MPT.     

A microtiter plate assay for N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase using a fluorogenic substrate

We describe a simple endpoint method for the determination of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAGase; EC 3.2.1.30). NAGase uses a fluorogenic substrate, 4-methylumbelliferyl-N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide, at pH 4.6, liberating the fluorescent 4-methylumbelliferone. The method is reproducible and fast both at room temperature and at 37 degrees C. The procedure developed can be used, e.g., in the diagnosis of bovine subclinical mastitis, where elevated NAGase activities are found in raw milk samples. The assay procedure has a high capacity and high sensitivity and several hundred milk samples can be screened per hour using 96-well microtiter plates and an automated fluorescence reader. In addition to its use in mastitis diagnosis, the assay can be used in the diagnosis of some diseases of human origin.     

A rapid microtiter plate serum bactericidal assay method for determining serum complement-mediated killing of Mannheimia haemolytica

In this study, we describe a rapid microtiter serum bactericidal assay (RMSBA) that can be used to measure the functionality of immune sera. It quantifies bactericidal activity of immune sera in the presence of complement against a homologous bacterium, M. haemolytica in this case. There is high correlation between data from RMSBA and standard complement-mediated bacterial killing assay (r=0.756; p<0.0001). The RMSBA activity of sera can be generated in less than 5 h instead of overnight incubation. RMSBA costs substantially less in terms of time, labor, and resources and is highly reproducible.     

A simple and sensitive assay for ascorbate using a plate reader

We have developed a rapid, inexpensive, and reliable assay for the determination of ascorbate using a plate reader. In this assay, ascorbic acid is oxidized to dehydroascorbic acid using Tempol (4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy) and then reacted with o-phenylenediamine to form the condensation product, 3-(dihydroxyethyl)furo[3,4-b]quinoxaline-1-one. The rate of appearance of this product is monitored over time using fluorescence. With this method, it is possible to analyze 96 wells in less than 10min. This permits the analysis of 20 samples with a full set of standards and blanks, all in triplicate. The assay is robust for a variety of samples, including orange juice, swine plasma, dog plasma, and cultured cells. To demonstrate the usefulness of the assay for the rapid determination of experimental parameters, we investigated the uptake of ascorbate and two different ascorbate derivatives in U937 cells. We found similar plateau levels of intracellular ascorbate at 24h for ascorbate and ascorbate phosphate. However, the intracellular accumulation of ascorbate via the phosphate ester had an initial rate that was three to five times slower than that via the palmitate ester. Only lower concentrations of the palmitate ester could be examined because the ethanol needed as solvent decreased cell viability; it behaved similarly to the other two compounds at lower concentrations. To come to these conclusions, only nine plates needed to be analyzed to provide us with the end result after only 7h of analysis. This clearly demonstrates the strength of the plate reader assay, which allows the analysis of large-sample sets in a fraction of the time required for the methods that are most commonly used today. The assay is quick, is very economical, and provides results with uncertainties on the order of only 5%.     

Miniaturization of intracellular calcium functional assays to 1536-well plate format using a fluorometric imaging plate reader

The measurement of intracellular calcium response transients in living mammalian cells is a popular functional assay for identification of agonists and antagonists to receptors or channels of pharmacological interest. In recent years, advances in fluorescence-based detection techniques and automation technologies have facilitated the adaptation of this assay to 384-well microplate format high-throughput screening (HTS) assays. However, the cost and time required performing the intracellular calcium HTS assays in the 384-well format can be prohibitive for HTS campaigns of greater than 1 x 10(6) wells. For these reasons, it is attractive to miniaturize intracellular calcium functional assays to the 1536-well microplate format, where assay volumes and plate throughput can be decreased by several fold. The focus of the research described in this article is the miniaturization of an intracellular calcium assay to 1536-well plate format. This was accomplished by modifying the hardware and software of a fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPR) to enable transfer of nanoliters of test compound directly to a 1536-well assay plate, and measure the resulting calcium response from all 1536 wells simultaneously. An intracellular calcium functional assay against the rat muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype 1 (rmAchR1) G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) was miniaturized and executed on this modified instrument. In experiments measuring the activity of known muscarinic receptor agonists and antagonists, the miniaturized FLIPR assay gave EC(50) and IC(50) values and rank order potency comparable to the 384-well format assays. Calculated Z' factors for the miniaturized agonist and antagonist assays were, respectively, 0.56 +/- 0.21 and 0.53 +/- 0.22, which were slightly higher (Z'(agonist) = 0.55 +/- 0.33) and lower (Z'(antagonist) = 0.70 +/- 0.18) than the corresponding values in the 384-well assays. A mock agonist HTS campaign against the muscarinic receptor in miniaturized format was able to identify all wells spiked with the rmAchR1 agonist carbachol.     

Simple and rapid preparation of plasmid template by a filtration method using microtiter filter plates.

We developed a new simple high-throughput plasmid DNA extraction procedure, based on a modified alkaline lysis method, using only one 96-well microtiter glassfilter plate. In this method, cell harvesting, lysis by alkaline and plasmid purification are performed on only one microtiter glassfilter plate. After washing out RNAs or other contaminants, plasmid DNA is eluted by low-ion strength solution, although precipitated chromosomal DNA is not eluted. The plasmid prepared by this method can be applied to sequencing reactions or restriction enzyme cleavage.     

A rapid method for detecting specific amplified PCR fragments in microtiter plates.

A simple method is presented to circumvent laborious and time consuming electrophoretic separations of specific PCR amplification products. Specific target DNA is amplified using nucleotides labelled with DIG-dUTP or biotin-dCTP. The labelled PCR products are separated from unincorporated nucleotides or oligonucleotides by using a positively charged DEAE cellulose matrix. Amplification products are visualized directly in the matrix using immunoenzymatic methods or streptavidin-conjugated enzymes. The detection process can be carried out within 2 h, allows the processing of large sample sizes and can potentially be automated.     

A novel microtiter plate based method for identification of B‐cell epitopes

A new type of microtiter plate capable of binding biomolecules covalently in a one step procedure was used to map linear B‐cell epitopes in two different proteins using a peptide‐based solid phase immunoassay. The method was compared with a conventional immobilization method using passive adsorption to microtiter plates. An array of 15‐mer peptides, overlapping by five amino acids, representing the entire sequences of ubiquitin and murine tumor necrosis factor‐α, respectively, was synthesized. The peptides were immobilized covalently using the new, specialized microtiter plates or non‐covalently using conventional ELISA microtiter plates of the high binder type. Subsequently, specific antisera to ubiquitin or murine tumor necrosis factor‐α were added to identify potential linear B‐cell epitopes. All peptides, which were recognized on the conventional microtiter plates, were also recognized on the plates with the covalently bound peptides. In addition, the covalent immobilization method revealed epitopes that were not identified using the method for non‐covalent binding although the peptides were in fact present on the non‐covalent binding surface. The interaction with the hydrophobic surface of the conventional microtiter plate apparently interfered negatively with antibody recognition. The covalently binding microtiter plates described here could be useful for identification of new B‐cell epitopes in protein antigens. Copyright © 1999 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A colorimetric microtiter plate method for assessment of phage effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm

Bacteriophages have a potential in biofilm control. The aim of the study was to develop a method for selection of the most effective Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages for inhibition of biofilm formation and its eradication. The microtiter plate method is based on crystal violet staining and measuring of optical density.     

Development of a carbon dioxide-capture assay in microtiter plate for aspartyl-beta-hydroxylase.

CO2-capture methods have been used for assaying many decarboxylating enzymes including hydroxylation-coupled decarboxylation reactions. The traditional CO2-capture method involves performing the reaction in capped tubes and radiometric measurement of trapped 14CO2 by scintillation counting. In this report, a 14CO2-capture method in a 96-well microtiter plate format has been developed and a phosphor imaging system has been employed for sample measurement. The new assay method has been used successfully to assay aspartyl-beta-hydroxylase activity in microtiter plate format. The results obtained here compare favorably with those obtained from the traditional tube method. The method is sensitive, suitable for high throughput, and generally applicable to many CO2-releasing enzyme assays.     

A microcomputer based method for the rapid and detailed measurement of seedling root systems

Summary A simple method for making detailed measurements of seedling root systems is described. Photocopies of root systems are traced over by an operator using a digitizing system attached to a microcomputer. The computer calculates and prints the lengths of axis, laterals and sublaterals for each root system. Accurate measurements can be achieved with a degree of speed and detail unobtainable by other methods.     

一种使用酶标仪快速测定细菌素效价的方法

目的建立快速测定细菌素效价的方法。方法以Nisin为参照物,利用酶标仪测定指示菌吸光度值。结果确定了在指示菌接种量为10%和细菌素作用时间为8 h 2个测定参数条件下,样品效价检测值的相对标准偏差在5%以下。结论所建方法快速、准确,适合检测菌所产细菌素的研究。     

A rapid microtiter plate assay for measuring the effect of compounds on Staphylococcus aureus membrane potential

We developed a homogenous microtiter based assay using the cationic dye 3, 3′-Diethyloxacarbocyanine iodide, DiOC₂(3), to measure the effect of compounds on membrane potential in Staphylococcus aureus. In a screen of 372 compounds from a synthetic compound collection with anti-Escherichia coli activity due to unknown modes of action at least 17% demonstrated potent membrane activity, enabling rapid discrimination of nuisance compounds.