CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assays
The amount of DNA in each cell remains constant for a given cell line or cell type, so assays based on DNA content—like Invitrogen™ CyQUANT™ Cell Proliferation Assays—can be used to provide an accurate and simple measure of cell number. CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assays are ideal for high-throughput screening, are more sensitive than colorimetric-based assays, and are not radioactive. Rapid and easy to use, CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assays Kits require no washes, extractions, growth medium changes, or long incubations, and don't rely metabolic status of the cell.
CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assays Kits selection guide
| Linearity (# of cells) |
50–50,000
|
100–20,000
|
50–20,000
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of assay |
3 hrs minimum
|
1 hr
|
1 hr
|
| Optimal assay design |
Multi-day or endpoint experiment
|
Real-time data analysis
|
High-throughput in 96-, 384-, or 1,536-well plates
|
| Freezing step required? |
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
| Media removal required? |
Yes
|
Yes
|
No
|
| Sample volume |
200 µL
|
100 µL
|
5–100 µL (reagent is added directly to culture medium in microwells)
|
| Ex/Em |
480/520 nm
|
497/520 nm
|
508/527 nm
|
| Validated cell lines | Mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3 and CREBAG 2 cells), normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), canine kidney cells (MDCK), chinook salmon embryo cells (CHSE), rat basophilic leukemia cells (RBL), rat glioma cells (C6), and mouse myeloma cells (P3X63A68) | HEK 293, HeLa, HepG2, 3T3 and CHO cells | Adherent (CHO-K1, Hep-G2, U87, MDA-MB-231, SNU-1, PC-3, human primary aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC), human primary pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (HPASMC), human keratinocytes, and HUVEC) and suspension cells (Jurkat) |
CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assays
- For multi-day tests or when you need precision
- Samples are run, frozen, then assayed all at the same time using the same set of standards
- Freezing helps ensure precision
- Linear from 50 to 50,000 cells (Figure 1)
- Up to 250,000 cells with increased dye concentration
 |
Figure 1. Quantitation of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts using the CyQUANT Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. Fluorescence measurements were made using a microplate reader with excitation at 485 nm and emission detection at 530 nm. The linear range of the assay under these conditions is from 50 to 50,000 cells per 200 µL sample. The inset shows the linearity that can be obtained at very low number of cells. |
CyQUANT NF Cell Proliferation Assays
- When you need real-time data
- Streamlined–1 hour start to finish
- No freeze step required
- Linear from 100 to 20,000 cells (Figure 2)
 |
Figure 2. Quantitation of CHO (M1WT3) cells using the CyQUANT NF Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. Fluorescence measurements were made using a microplate reader with excitation at 485 nm and emission detection at 530 nm. The linear range of the assay under these conditions is from 100 to 20,000 cells per 100 µL sample. The inset shows the linearity that can be obtained at very low number of cells. |