PlasmoTest™ - Mycoplasma Detection Kit
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PlasmoTest™ Mycoplasma contamination detection kit |
Show product |
1 kit (250 samples) |
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Cell-based colorimetric assay for mycoplasma detection
Principle of mycoplasma detection assay
(click to enlarge)
PlasmoTest™ is the first cellular assay, designed as a routine method for the visual, colorimetric detection of mycoplasma contamination in cell cultures.
Description
Mycoplasma contamination of cultured cells is a major problem in scientific research. It cannot be detected by visual inspection and may remain totally undetected for long periods, thus affecting virtually any function of eukaryotic cells and leading to unreliable experimental results and potentially unsafe biological products.
Thus, InvivoGen introduces PlasmoTest™, a cell-based, reliable, and sustainable tool to detect mycoplasma contamination in cell culture. It features two major components:
- the endotoxin sensor cells, HEK-Blue™-2 cells
- HEK-Blue™ Detection medium
Assay principle
HEK-Blue™-2 cells, engineered to become extremely sensitive, recognize even small amounts of mycoplasma through the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2. This leads to the activation of NF-κB and the subsequent release of SEAP, a secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase reporter protein, in the supernatant.
These cells are cultured in HEK-Blue™ Detection medium. In the presence of SEAP, it changes its color to purple/blue, making it ideal for routine tests. The simple addition of test samples to these cells provides colorimetric results with sensitivity similar to luminescence-based biochemical assays. SEAP activity can also be measured using a spectrophotometer for a more precise and semi-quantitative result.
Key features
- Simple - Requires basic cell culture knowledge and no specific lab equipment
- Quick - Hands-on time < 1 hour. Results after overnight incubation
- Reliable - No false positive: a positive result indicates the presence of a cell culture contaminant
- Versatile - Indicates mycoplasma and bacterial contamination
- Highly sensitive - Detects 5.102-5.105 cfu/ml mycoplasma contaminants
- Economical - 1 kit allows to perform up to 250 tests
Read our review on Mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures
Read our review on Mycoplasma eradication
InvivoGen's mycoplasma detection kit is for investigative purposes only. Not for diagnostic use.
Back to the topSpecifications
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Functional assays: tested on the five mycoplasma species most frequently isolated from cell cultures
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Sensitivity: detects 5.102 - 5.105 cfu/ml depending on the species of mycoplasma
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No false positive: a positive result indicates the presence of a cell culture contaminant
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Specificity: PlasmoTest™ cannot be used for mycoplasma species detection.
- Versatile: PlasmoTest™ can detect other cell culture contaminants such as bacteria.
Contents
Plasmotest™ Kit: test up to 250 samples.
- HEK-Blue™-2 Cells: 1 vial of 3-7 x 106 frozen cells
- HEK-Blue™ Selection: 2 x 1 ml of 250X solution of selective antibiotics
- Normocin™: 1 ml of 500X Normocin™ (1 ml for 500 ml of cell culture medium)
- HEK-Blue™ Detection: 1 pouch (for 50 ml of reconstituted detection medium each)
- HEK-Blue™ Water: 60 ml bottle
- Positive control: 1 tube
- Negative control: 1 tube
HEK-Blue™-2 Cells are shipped on dry ice.
See the Data Sheet for the storage conditions of each component.
To perform further assays, only the reagents need to be reordered.
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