µ-Slide Angiogenesis

Applications:

• Tube formation assays
• Sprouting assays
• 3D cell culture
• Immunofluorescence staining
• Phase contrast microscopy of attached cells

Technical Features:

• Standard slide format
• Closely fitting lid to reduce evaporation
• 4 mm well within a 5 mm well
• Homogeneous 0.8 mm thick gel layer*
• Homogeneous cell growth
• Compatible with staining and fixation
• Excellent optical properties for microscopy
• Compatible with multi-channel pipettes
• Made of biocompatible plastic material - no glue, no leaking
• Suitable for use with various types of gels, e.g. Matrigel™, collagen, and agarose*
• Also available in a 96 well format: µ-Plate Angiogenesis 96 well

*The gel matrix is not part of the product.

Specifications:

Define and print your experimental setup

Fluorescence microscopy of one single strand composed of HUVEC cells. F-actin cytoskeleton stained green, and cell nuclei blue.

Angiogenesis Assays in vitro

Cells on gel matrices can be used to monitor their ability to form new vascular structures. Tube formation assays are carried out by seeding single cells onto the gel matrix and observing characteristic patterns. To carry out sprouting assays, either spheroids or pieces of tissue, e.g., from the aorta, are placed onto the gel matrix. Both these types of assays require that the underlying gel layer be of uniform thickness.

“Well-in-a-well” feature avoids meniscus formation

The μ-Slide Angiogenesis requires only 10 µl of gel per well. It is suitable for use with all common gel matrices, such as Matrigel™, collagen gels and hyaluronic acid gels. Another advantage of the µ-Slide Angiogenesis is that assays benefit from having a gel matrix of uniform thickness. Furthermore, not only does this slide provide reproducible cell culture conditions, it also ensures all cells are in one optical plane.

μ-Slide Angiogenesis versus Standard Well

	| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
µ-Slide Angiogenesis Planar air-liquid interface: good phase contrast all over the observation area Planar gel surface: all cells are in one optical plane Volume of Matrigel: 10 µl		Standard well Meniscus on air-liquid interface: poor phase contrast in most of the observation area Mensicus on the gel surface: not possible to focus on all cells simultaneously Volume of Matrigel: 100 µl

The µ-Slide Angiogenesis Can Be Used in a Wide Range of Applications

Normal use - for tube formation assays

Tube formation assays are carried out by seeding single cells on top of a 10 µl gel layer and observing characteristic patterns.

Lower volumes of gel - for focusing cells

When used with less than 10 µl of gel the µ-Slide Angiogenesis can be used to cultivate small numbers of cells on a soft gel surface.

Cells embedded in gel matrix – 3D cell culture

The „well in a well“ feature of the μ-Slide Angiogenesis also supports microscopy of cells embedded in gel matrices. 3D cell cultures mimic in vivo conditions of, e.g., cancer cells and hepatocytes. The combination of the gel matrix with the medium reservoir above it allows for fast and easy medium exchange by diffusion.

Without any gel matrix – low volume microscopy chamber

The µ-Slide Angiogenesis can also be used without any gel. In this fashion it can be used as a 15 fold sample chamber for, e.g., coating experiments.

Also applicable for IF-based coating tests.