October 1, 2011 (Vol. 31, No. 17)

Measuring Metabolism in a Microplate in Minutes

The measurement of cell respiratory control is the single most useful test of mitochondrial (dys)function in cells, as reported by renowned bioenergetic scientists Martin Brand, Ph.D., (Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA), and David Nicholls, Ph.D., (MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, U.K.), in the March 2011 Journal of Biochemistry.

Launched in 2006, the award-winning XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer is the industry standard for measuring cellular bioenergetics, simultaneously measuring the two major energy-producing pathways of the cell—mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis—in a microplate, in real-time.

The XF Analyzer and associated kits determine in vitro oxygen consumption, glycolysis, mitochondrial (dys)function, and fatty acid oxidation. Any cell type can be assayed on the XF Analyzer, including primary, adherent, and suspension cells, as well as islets and isolated mitochondria.

Over 1,500 life sciences researchers worldwide are using the XF Analyzer to further their research into mitochondrial (dys)function, and their collaborative knowledge has been incorporated into the XF Cell Mito Stress Test Kit, which provides a complete cellular bioenergetic profile, by measuring the key parameters of mitochondrial (dys)function, and revealing critical information earlier, information not available in basal metabolism alone.

The XF Cell Mito Stress Test Kit has simplified cellular bioenergetic studies and has become the worldwide standard for measuring mitochondrial (dys)function.

About the Company

Seahorse Bioscience is ranked as one of the 30 largest biotech companies in New England. Founded in 2001, Seahorse is headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, U.S.; and has regional offices in Copenhagen, Denmark; and Shanghai, China; plus an international network of distributors. Seahorse has been named in the 2011 Inc. 500|5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America, and the XF instrument line was also awarded The Scientist Top 10 Innovations Award in 2009.

Markets Served

Mitochondrial (dys)function plays a key role in many diseases. Renowned scientists, physicians, and research fellows, working at many of the world’s leading academic institutions, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, are using the XF Analyzer and the XF Cell Mito Stress Test Kit to advance their research in understanding the role of cellular bioenergetics in neurodegeneration, aging, cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, toxicology, hepatobiology, immunology, infectious diseases, mitochondrial diseases, model organisms, metabolic disorders, screening, and translational medicine.

Capabilities

Using the XF Cell Mito Stress Test Kit you can now confidently quantify cellular respiration, and yield information that allows a quick and simple assessment of the mitochondrial profile of the cells: how fast they are producing ATP to meet demand, and how much spare respiratory capacity they have to deal with energetic demands.

The XF Cell Mito Stress Test Kit contains enough reagents to run six XF24 or XF96 microplates. Pre-calibrated reagents eliminate the questions and concerns of where to source the reagents, or what concentrations are optimal. You can run a full mitochondrial profile in each well, and the software algorithms automatically calculate the most important metrics, simplifying your work even further.

Additional kits are in development including the XF Glycolysis Stress Test Kit—to measure the glycolytic functionality of the cell, glucose metabolism, glycolytic capacity, and non-glycolytic acidification. Other kits are in development for key applications such as fatty acid oxidation and cell permeabilization.

With growing evidence that cellular bioenergetics play a pivotal role in human aging and disease, the XF Analyzer and associated kits are uniquely positioned for analyzing the metabolic phenotype of cells.

By simultaneously measuring respiration and glycolysis in real-time, and the shift between the two pathways under pathological states, scientists can better understand the connection of physiological traits of cells with genomic and proteomic data to generate new insights into mitochondrial (dys)function, which will lead to a greater understanding, and new treatments of diseases as the human lifespan increases.

Seahorse Bioscience

16 Esquire Road

Billerica, MA 01862

Phone 978.671.1600

Website www.seahorsebio.com

Date Founded 2001

 Number of Employees 140

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