FREE SAMPLES

Order a FREE SAMPLE to test ibidi’s µ-Slides, µ-Dishes, and µ-Plates with your experiments.

ibidi FAQs

Find answers to frequently asked questions on wound healing and migration assays.

Comparison to Scratch Assay

The scratch assay is a widely used technique for investigating wound healing processes. After manually scratching the cell surface with a pipet, the generated wound closes by migration and proliferation of the cells.

However, regarding reproducibility, this method has certain drawbacks:

  • The gap width is highly dependent on the pressure applied to the pipet tip.
  • Scratching removes the surface coating.
  • The removed cells form clumps of living and dead cells at the edges of the scratch. The spreading of living cells can overlay the speed of migration.

The ibidi Culture-Insert Provides Improved Reproducibility,
Compared to a Scratch Assay
 

Data provided by M. Börries, University Freiburg, Germany

The Culture-Insert, in combination with the ibiTreat surface of the μ-Dish, overcomes the problems associated with the scratch assay. When the insert is removed there is no change to the ibiTreat surface. This has been proven in tests with different types of cells, such as fibroblasts, keratinocytes, and several endothelial cell types.

ibidi Culture-Inserts

Scratch Assays

Cell seeding into designated areas

Scratching with a needle or tip

Defined cell-free gap

Varying cell-free gap – not reproducible

Defined non-coated surface

Possible extra-cellular matrix remains

No cell damage

Cell damage

Internal reference

No internal reference*

*Internal Reference

The internal reference may answer the question as to whether two opposite cell fronts influence each other or not. With the defined cell seeding technique, it is possible to measure the speed of:

A: a cell front that is opposite another cell front; and
B: a single cell front that does not have an opposite cell front.