DEPwell technology is a novel platform for electro-physiology measurement of bacteria or cells which is launches 2012.This allows scientists to rapidly identify if and how a drug interacts with cells.

DEPwell technology uses a phenomenon called dielectrophoresis (DEP) to characterise cells. A force is induced on cells by a high frequency electric field, which can analyse cell response in terms of cellular structure and function.The DEP spectrum (figure 1) which contains valuable information on the properties that are describing the condition of a cell such as: membrane potential, membrane integrity, membrane folding and cytoplasm conductivity. Measuring changes in the DEP spectrum after drug interaction with cells enables identification of how the cells were influenced by the drug.
DEPwell technology uses disposable well electrodes along the side walls of each well (figure 2).This means simple optical detection methods can be applied alongside cost effective electrode plates.

Applications

• Drug discovery.
• Nanotechnology.
• In-vitro toxicology.
• Diagnostics.
• Environmental screening.
• Biotechnology.

Features and benefits

• High quality cell based assays, this technology replaces experiments on animals with experiments on human cell cultures while producing higher quality data on the electrophysiology of cells.
• Label-free means that the unwanted artifacts caused by chemical labels is avoided.
• Easy integration, DEPwell plate adheres to the standard used by laboratories and hence is easy to automate.
• Economic, the technology utilises low cost laminate technology which produces disposable devices that can increase throughput.