New Plasmids Developed for Real-Time Monitoring of Key Intracellular Molecules

New plasmids are now available for real-time assays enabling cell biology as well as drug discovery researchers to visualize and study the in vivo action of target molecules involved in key regulatory cell processes.

ChromoTek GmbH (Munich, Germany) offers the new nanobody based “Chromobody Plasmids” to visualize and measure the action of candidate drugs or other substances of interest on important regulatory processes in living cells. Presently, four plasmids are available: for analyzing the cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA methylation, and cytoskeleton dynamics. A major advantage of the new Chromobody plasmids compared to Chromobody cell lines already available is that researchers can now monitor cellular pathways in their own cells or cell lines simply by carrying out a transfection. Unlike conventional, end-point assays, the Chromobody plasmids allow the fate of endogeneous target proteins to be followed over time, also visually in a movie-like format. Additionally, as the fluorescently labeled intracellular antibodies expressed from these plasmids do not interfere with the activity of their targets, they are extremely useful for high-content screening.

The new product format is equally suitable for academic researchers who want to decipher cellular pathways and for biotech and pharma researchers seeking to enhance their drug discovery and high-throughput screening capabilities. “We are glad to be able to offer our customers a new product format that gives them greater flexibility both in basic cell biology research and in drug discovery and validation processes,” stated Marion Jung, Managing Director of ChromoTek. Researchers who would like to try the Chromobody technology for their own applications can now choose between three options: license a cell line; order assay-ready frozen instant cells via ChromoTek or via CCS (Cell Culture Service, now part of Evotec AG); or purchase a Chromobody plasmid.

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