Assay Sonication – The Assay-at-Once Sonicator UIP400MTP
Sonication is an essential technique in laboratory protocols, particularly for applications like chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays. By using ultrasonic energy to break down cells, shear DNA, and solubilize chromatin, sonication enables researchers to prepare samples more efficiently and reproducibly. The Hielscher multi-well plate sonicators are among the most advanced and effective tools available for this purpose, streamlining high-throughput workflows by accommodating up to 96-well plates.
Key Advantages of Multi-Well Plate Sonicators for Assays
Hielscher non-contact 96-well plate sonicators, such as the UIP400MTP, offer a highly reliable and controlled approach to cell lysis and chromatin shearing. This non-contact design ensures that each well is treated uniformly, providing consistent results across high sample numbers. With this sonicator, researchers can perform multiple processes, including:
- Cell Lysis: Effective sonication breaks open cell membranes, releasing cellular contents.
- DNA and RNA Shearing: High-intensity ultrasonic waves fragment DNA and RNA to desired sizes, essential for downstream assays.
- Chromatin Fragmentation: Shearing chromatin into smaller pieces for downstream analyses, such as chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), DNA sequencing, or other epigenetic studies. Read more about chromatin fragmentation using the UIP400MTP!
- Solubilization: Enhances the solubility of sample components, aiding in the preparation of uniform, reproducible assay samples.
These functions are essential for high-throughput sample preparation and sample miniaturization, as they allow researchers to process multiple samples with minimal risk of cross-contamination.
Importance of Sonication in ChIP Assays
Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays depend on precise chromatin shearing to yield DNA fragments of an optimal size, typically between 200-600 base pairs (bp). These fragments are necessary for effective immunoprecipitation, accurate peak resolution, and reliable results in ChIP-Seq assays. The Hielscher UIP400MTP Assay-At-Once sonicator is especially suited for ChIP protocols, providing uniform chromatin fragmentation across multiple wells. The benefits of this precision in ChIP workflows include:
- High Yield of Chromatin: Efficient sonication releases a greater amount of chromatin from each sample.
- Consistency Across Samples: The multi-well sonicator maintains consistent fragment sizes across all wells, reducing variability in ChIP assays.
- Enhanced Sensitivity and Resolution in ChIP-Seq: Properly fragmented DNA ensures clearer peak resolution, a critical factor in detecting precise protein-DNA interactions.
The Role of Reliable Sonication in Successful Assays
For assays that involve high sample numbers, such as in clinical diagnostics or drug discovery, reproducibility and throughput are essential. The Hielscher multi-well plate sonicators provide a solution by facilitating uniform sample preparation across a large number of wells. This consistency not only improves assay robustness but also enhances overall workflow efficiency, saving time and resources in the lab.
Hielscher multi-well plate sonicators are invaluable in assay protocols, particularly those requiring high-throughput processing. By ensuring reliable cell lysis, DNA shearing, and solubilization, these sonicators optimize sample preparation for accurate and reproducible results. For researchers working with ChIP assays, the UIP400MTP sonicator offers a robust tool that enhances chromatin yield, fragment consistency, and assay sensitivity—ultimately leading to more successful experiments and clearer insights.
The multi-well plate sonicator UIP400MTP facilitates high-throughput sample preparation streamlining research work and assays.
Key Features of the UIP400MTP Multiwell Sonicator
| High-Throughput Sonication | Perfectly suited for 96-wells and other multiwell plates, the UIP400MTP allows for simultaneous, identical sonication of multiple samples, significantly shortening the duration of sample preparation and increasing the throughput of high sample number testing. |
| Use the Multiwell Plate of Your Choice | The UIP400MTP is designed to sonicate any standard multiwell plates, PCR plates, or microtiter plates. You choose the plate most suitable for your experiments. As the UIP400MTP does not require proprietary consumables, this saves you a lot of money! |
| Non-Contact Ultrasonication | The Multiwell Plate Sonicator UIP400MTP applies intense ultrasound without inserting anything into the sample. You can sonicate ealed multiwell plates, closed vessels and vials. Hielscher supplies you customized sample holders for any non-standard vials or vessels. |
| Precision and Control | Precision control and smart software allows you to set the ultrasonic parameters to suit your specific processing needs optimally. You get maximum sonication efficiency and effectiveness for every experiment. |
| Temperature Control | Set a specific temperature for your sonication. The UIP400MTP plate sonicator can monitor sample temperature and adjust the sonication accordingly. A recirculating cooling liquid chills each well in the plate for precise temperature control. |
| Protocoling and Remote Control | Each sonication run can be controlled from a computer. No software installation is needed. You can use your standard browser (e.g Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari) on any operating system (e.g. MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS or Linux) to control and monitor the UIP400MTP remotely. Each sonication run produces a detailed sonication protocol for evaluation and documentation. The protocol file is in a non-proprietary CSV-format, that you can open with your preferred program, e.g. Microsoft Excel, Apple Numbers, or OpenOffice Calc. |
| Robust and Reliable | Designed and built in Germany to highest quality standards, the UIP400MTP is not just powerful but also remarkably durable. Its design fulfills industrial standards and easily withstand the rigors of daily use in a demanding lab environment. You can use the UIP400MTP continuously 24 hours, 7 days a week in high-throughput operations. |
How the UIP400MTP Facilitates Assay Miniaturization
The Hielscher multi-well plate sonicator UIP400MTP plays a crucial role in the miniaturization of assays, enabling scientists and clinicians to scale down assay volumes without compromising accuracy or precision. This capability is invaluable across fields like microbiology, drug discovery, diagnostics, personalized medicine, and clinical diagnostics, where miniaturized assays allow for more efficient, cost-effective, and rapid testing.
- Non-Contact Sonication in 96-Well Plates
The UIP400MTP’s non-contact sonication technology is ideally suited for miniaturized assay formats. By accommodating 96-well plates, this sonicator can process very small sample volumes simultaneously across multiple wells. Traditional sonication methods often struggle with consistency at lower volumes due to uneven energy distribution, but the UIP400MTP delivers uniform ultrasonic waves across all wells, maintaining reliable results even in miniaturized formats. - Precision and Uniformity Across Samples
Miniaturization requires precise control over sample preparation, as smaller volumes can be more sensitive to variations. The focused sonication delivered by the UIP400MTP ensures that each well receives an identical level of sonication, which is essential for maintaining accuracy and reproducibility across all samples. This consistency is key in fields such as drug discovery and clinical diagnostics, where even slight variations can affect results. Read more about focused sonication! - Efficient Cell Lysis and DNA Shearing in Reduced Volumes
With smaller volumes, efficient cell lysis and DNA shearing become more challenging, yet they are critical for generating high-quality assay results. The UIP400MTP’s high-intensity ultrasonic waves are powerful enough to achieve effective cell disruption and DNA shearing even in reduced volumes. This capability allows researchers to obtain the necessary quality of lysates and DNA fragments without needing to upscale volumes, making it an ideal tool for miniaturized workflows. - Cost Savings and Resource Efficiency
Miniaturized assays consume fewer reagents and reduce sample waste, which is especially beneficial when working with rare or expensive samples. The UIP400MTP supports this by enabling high-throughput sample preparation in small volumes, allowing scientists to maximize their resources. In fields like personalized medicine, where patient-derived samples can be limited, this efficiency is particularly advantageous. - Increased Throughput and Speed
By reducing assay volumes, the UIP400MTP helps laboratories process more samples in a shorter time frame, significantly increasing throughput. This rapid processing is crucial in high-demand fields like diagnostics and drug discovery, where time-sensitive results can directly impact patient care or research outcomes. Miniaturized assays combined with the UIP400MTP’s high-throughput capacity allow for faster, large-scale testing and analysis. - Supports Automation and High-Throughput Screening
The UIP400MTP’s compatibility with any standard multi-well plate formats enables seamless integration with automated systems used in high-throughput screening. This integration is a major advantage in fields like microbiology and drug discovery, where rapid, automated processing is essential for screening large compound libraries or analyzing numerous microbial strains.
The UIP400MTP facilitates assay miniaturization by delivering reliable sonication for small volumes, ensuring precision and consistency across samples. Its ability to handle miniaturized assays with high accuracy, reproducibility, and efficiency allows scientists and clinicians to scale down volumes while achieving faster, cost-effective, and high-quality results across various research and clinical fields.
Assays Facilitated by the UIP400MTP Multi-well Plate Sonicator
The multi-well plate sonicator UIP400MTP is used for assays involving cell disruption to release proteins and biomolecules, biofilm research and antimicrobial testing, such as:
- ELISA: Sonication is used when the sample preparation involves breaking open cells to obtain protein extracts.
- MBEC (Minimum Biofilm Eradication Concentration) Assays: For determining the concentration of antimicrobial agents required to eradicate established biofilms. Read more about using the UIP400MTP for MBEC assays including protocol.
- MBIC (Minimum Biofilm Inhibitory Concentration) Assays: For assessing the ability of antimicrobials to prevent biofilm formation.
- Biofilm Quantification Assays: For disrupting biofilms to measure biomass or cell viability using methods like CFU counts or spectrophotometry.
- High-Throughput Drug Screening: For evaluating the efficacy of antimicrobial compounds against biofilm-forming bacteria in multi-well formats.
- Extracellular Matrix Extraction: ECM Extraction is an essential sample preparation step before numerous assays. Find the protocol for high-through Extracellular Matrix Extraction with the UIP400MTP here!
- PMCA: Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification is an indispensable step for reliable prion detection. Learn how the UIP400MTP facilitates high-throughput PMCA for robust results!
Literature / References
- FactSheet UIP400MTP Multi-well Plate Sonicator – Non-Contact Sonicator – Hielscher Ultrasonics
- Dreyer J., Ricci G., van den Berg J., Bhardwaj V., Funk J., Armstrong C., van Batenburg V., Sine C., VanInsberghe M.A., Marsman R., Mandemaker I.K., di Sanzo S., Costantini J., Manzo S.G., Biran A., Burny C., Völker-Albert M., Groth A., Spencer S.L., van Oudenaarden A., Mattiroli F. (2024): Acute multi-level response to defective de novo chromatin assembly in S-phase. Molecular Cell 2024.
- Mochizuki, Chika; Taketomi, Yoshitaka; Irie, Atsushi; Kano, Kuniyuki; Nagasaki, Yuki; Miki, Yoshimi; Ono, Takashi; Nishito, Yasumasa; Nakajima, Takahiro; Tomabechi, Yuri; Hanada, Kazuharu; Shirouzu, Mikako; Watanabe, Takashi; Hata, Kousuke; Izumi, Yoshihiro; Bamba, Takeshi; Chun, Jerold; Kudo, Kai; Kotani, Ai; Murakami, Makoto (2024): Secreted phospholipase PLA2G12A-driven lysophospholipid signaling via lipolytic modification of extracellular vesicles facilitates pathogenic Th17 differentiation. BioRxiv 2024.
- UIP400MTP-Multi-well-Plate-Sonicator-Infographic
- De Oliveira A, Cataneli Pereira V, Pinheiro L, Moraes Riboli DF, Benini Martins K, Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha MDL (2016): Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of Planktonic and Biofilm Cells of Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 17(9):1423; 2016.
- Martins KB, Ferreira AM, Pereira VC, Pinheiro L, Oliveira A, Cunha MLRS (2019): In vitro Effects of Antimicrobial Agents on Planktonic and Biofilm Forms of Staphylococcus saprophyticus Isolated From Patients With Urinary Tract Infections. Frontiers in Microbiology 2019.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Assay Sonication?
Assay sonication is a technique that uses ultrasonic waves to disrupt cells, shear DNA, and solubilize proteins or chromatin, enabling efficient sample preparation for biochemical assays.
What is an Assay?
An assay is a laboratory procedure used to measure the presence, quantity, or activity of a specific substance or analyte within a sample, often to assess biological, chemical, or biochemical properties. Assays are a common procedure in clinical laboratories, life sciences, molecular biology, pharmacology, environmental biology and mining.
What is the Difference between Assay and Test?
The terms “assay” and “test” are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings in scientific contexts:
- Assay: An assay is a precise, quantitative or semi-quantitative analytical procedure designed to measure the presence, amount, or functional activity of a specific substance (analyte) within a sample. Assays are typically well-defined, reproducible protocols used to assess purity, concentration, or biological activity. They are often used in biochemical, pharmacological, or chemical analyses.
- Test: A test is a broader term that refers to any method or process used to evaluate a sample or system’s properties or functionality. Tests may be qualitative or quantitative, and they can range from simple assessments (e.g., pH test) to more complex evaluations. Unlike assays, tests may not require as high a degree of specificity or quantitative measurement.
In summary, while all assays are tests, not all tests are assays. Assays are usually more specific and quantitative, whereas tests can include a wide range of procedures with varying specificity and detail.
What are the Three Types of Assays?
The three main types of assays are:
- Biochemical Assays: These assays measure the activity or concentration of specific molecules (such as enzymes, substrates, or metabolites) in biochemical reactions. They are widely used to analyze enzyme kinetics, binding affinities, and metabolic pathways.
- Cell-Based Assays: Cell-based assays assess the effects of compounds, proteins, or other substances on live cells. They measure parameters like cell viability, proliferation, cytotoxicity, signaling pathways, and gene expression, providing insights into cellular responses and drug effects.
- Immunoassays: Immunoassays use antibodies to detect and quantify specific antigens or analytes in a sample. Common types include ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay), western blotting, and immunofluorescence. These assays are widely used in diagnostics and research for detecting proteins, hormones, and pathogens.
Each of these assays is essential in research, diagnostics, and drug development, as they provide quantitative or qualitative data on different biological or chemical properties.
What are the Most Important Assays in Life Science and Microbiology?
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA): ELISA is a widely used immunoassay to detect and quantify specific proteins, antibodies, or antigens in biological samples. It’s invaluable for diagnosing diseases, tracking immune responses, and biomarker detection. Sonication is used to lyse cells or tissues to release target proteins if analyzing intracellular components.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Assays: PCR and its variants (such as qPCR and RT-PCR) amplify DNA or RNA, enabling rapid detection and quantification of specific genetic material. These assays are crucial in pathogen detection, genetic studies, and diagnostics. Sonication is used for DNA extraction from cells or tissues, especially if studying microbial or eukaryotic cells with robust cell walls or membranes.
- Western Blotting: This technique detects and quantifies specific proteins within a sample, providing information on protein expression, molecular weight, and post-translational modifications. It is extensively used in molecular biology and disease research. Sonication is used for lysing cells or tissues to release and shear proteins, preparing them for analysis.
- Reporter Gene Assays: These assays measure gene expression and regulatory activity by introducing reporter genes like GFP or luciferase into cells. They are widely used to study gene expression, promoter activity, and the effects of drugs on signaling pathways. Sonication is sometimes used if lysing cells to analyze reporter gene products, such as enzymes like luciferase, in cell-based assays.
- Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) Assays: ChIP assays investigate protein-DNA interactions, allowing researchers to study transcription factors, histone modifications, and epigenetic regulation of gene expression, important in gene regulation studies and disease research. Sonication is a key step to shear chromatin into appropriate fragment sizes, enabling effective immunoprecipitation.
- Luminex Assays: These multiplex bead-based assays simultaneously measure multiple analytes (e.g., cytokines, hormones) within a single sample, useful in immunology, oncology, and biomarker discovery. Sonication is used for preparing cell or tissue lysates to measure intracellular analytes, but it’s not required for plasma or serum samples.
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