10.1177/1087057103256465Lundholt et al.A Simple Technique for Reducing Edge Effect A Simple Technique for Reducing Edge Effect in Cell-Based

Several factors are known to increase the noise and variability of cell-based assays used for high-throughput screening. In par-ticular, edge effects can result in anunacceptably highplate rejection rate in screening runs. In an effort tominimize these vari-ations, the authors analyzed a number of factors that could contribute to edge effects in cell-based assays. They found that pre-incubation of newly seeded plates in ambient conditions (air at room temperature) resulted in even distribution of the cells in eachwell. In contrast, when newly seeded plateswere placed directly in theCO2 incubator, an uneven distribution of cells oc-curred inwells around the plate periphery, resulting in increased edge effect. Here, the authors show that the simple, inexpen-sive approach of incubating newly seeded plates at room temperature before placing them in a 37 ° C CO2 incubator yields a significant reduction in edge effect. (Journal of Biomolecular Screening 2003:566-570) Key words: edge effect, cell-based assays, high-throughput screenin