Q: Does the entire 96-well Invasion Chamber plate need to be used in one experiment?
A: Yes the 96-well invasion assay must be used all at once. Since all the coated inserts are in a single plate, they will all have to go through the overnight incubation of the invasion assay in a 37ºC incubator, even if the wells aren’t being used. The basement membrane layer on the unused wells becomes unstable after a long incubation in a humid environment and therefore cannot be re-used. Our 96-well invasion assays are designed specifically for high-throughput labs.
Our 24-well invasion assays contain individual and removable inserts which does not require all 12 assays to be completed at once. Any 24-well sterile cell culture plate is suitable for use with these removable invasion units.
Q: Is it necessary to add CaCl2, MgCl2, and BSA to the media?
A: It is not necessary to include BSA in the serum for the invasion assay; however CaCl2 and MgCl2 are important because they are required for integrin receptor activation, which is responsible for cell adhesion. Most media contains CaCl2 and MgCl2 but should be supplemented if your media does not already contain this.