“Assay.Works was the first CRO to acquire the SURFE²R 96SE platform. What are the main benefits of the platform that made you acquire it?”

Some targets such as organelle transporters that can be readily and in high-throughput format studied using SURFE²R 96SE, are inaccessible for other techniques. Assay.Works is delighted to have a long-lasting close partnership with Nanion as the sole provider of the SSM-based electrophysiology screening platform (SURFE²R 96SE).

“How does the SURFE²R 96SE integrate into your existing portfolio (concerning synergies, workflows, etc.)”

Our expertise and offered services span the whole spectrum from cell engineering to functional assays. At Assay.Works, based on the experimental needs, we generate cell lines over-expressing the desired target and produce cell banks of assay-ready frozen cells (ARFCs). The custom-made cell line from the cell bank can be used in our diverse cell-based assays (High-Content Screening microscopy, Reporter Gene assay, FACS, etc.) or be utilized for high-quality membrane isolation and enrichment. Then the membranes can be used for assay development or screening purposes on SURFE²R 96SE. Using a bio-active compound library of more than 5000 compounds, we have performed a small-scale screening project on human peptide transporter 1 (PEPT1) with solid and reproducible results. Assay.Works has developed a hybrid titration scheme (IXwell concentration-response) that greatly increases the cost-efficiency of running concentration-response assays on SURFE²R 96SE. We also offer specialized functional mitochondrial and lysosomal microscopy assays that produce a high synergy with SURFE²R 96SE assays targeting mitochondrial or lysosomal transporters/pumps.

“Which services do you provide around the SURFE²R technology to implement transporters research at Assay.Works? (e.g. sample preparation, cell lines generation to investigate on the SURFE2R)”

Thanks to our long-standing and close partnership with Nanion, the assays which are developed by Nanion can get smoothly transferred and scaled up in Assay.Works. Starting from cell-line generation to ultimately running the scaled-up assays, all can and are performed under the same roof at Assay.Works. Integration of all these services makes the projects much more cost-efficient and economical for Assay.Works’ clients in comparison to multi-party projects. At Assay.Works, to ensure the quality and efficiency of the membrane enrichment procedure, we routinely perform multiple quality control assays. BCA is assayed to quantify the total protein concentration of the sample. Western blot and ELISA assays are utilized for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the target protein enrichment. In case that localization of the target protein is important, for example, the target should be expressed on a specific organelle and not on the plasma membrane, we utilize microscopic assays to ensure the correct localization of the over-expressed target protein in the engineered cell line. In addition, we have developed specific and sensitive mitochondrial health assays based on morphologic profiling that can greatly complement SURFE²R 96SE for mitochondrial targets.