Presentation

In the CCC F. Baclesse, the ImpedanCELL platform is hosted in a dedicated cell culture lab of the research building within the BioTICLA laboratory (Biology and Innovative Therapies of Ovarian Cancer), which is one of the two research themes of Inserm UMR 1086 ANTICIPE (Interdisciplinary Research Unit for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancers).
At the LABÉO site (close proximity, 10 min), the ImpedanCELL platform is hosted within the Normandy Equine Valley platform in Saint-Contest, which houses the LABÉO researchers, the BIOTARGEN team (Biology, Genetics and OsteoArticular and Respiratory Therapies - EA7450) of the University of Caen Normandy, the RESPE (Epidemiology-Surveillance Network for Equine Pathologies) and a start-up (EquiWays, which provides health prevention advice for stud farms). The platform, which is equipped with a BSL-2 containment room (BSL-3 project underway), allows the study of many pathogens.

ImpedanCELL is an original innovative platform for investigating real-time high-throughput cellular activity by two types of technologies: impedance measurement (xCELLigence^®, ACEA Biosciences Inc.) and live cell imaging (IncuCyte^® S3, Sartorius). Thanks to the support of the CCC F. Baclesse, LABÉO, SF 4206 ICORE, the University of Caen Normandy, the Normandy regional government, the French State and Europe (ERDF), the ImpedanCELL platform is equipped with several cutting edge technologies and offers access to several instruments based on xCELLigence technology. At the CCC F. Baclesse, the platform provides access to two xCELLigence^® RTCA MP (multiple plates) systems (that can host up to six-well electronic microtiter plates each) and one xCELLigence^® RTCA DP (dual purpose) system (with three 16-well plates) that allows studying adhesion, proliferation, cell death, migration, invasion, etc. Direct applications are possible in fields as wide-ranging as oncology, neuroscience, toxicology, immunology and marine biology. A third xCELLigence^® RTCA MP system with six 96-well plates is also available on the LABÉO site in a BSL-2 confinement room, allowing to perform complementary experiments in the field of microbiology.

In 2017, the ImpedanCELL platform acquired two live cell imaging systems (IncuCyte^® S3), one for each site. This equipment automates image acquisition and analysis in long-term kinetics (phase contrast and fluorescence), directly in an incubator, and allows the study of six 96 well plates simultaneously. These two systems allow to answer to requests for investigations of high-throughput real-time cellular activity (action of molecules on spheroids, wound healing, characterization of cell death, observation of cytopathic effect after virus infection, etc.).

The ImpedanCELL platform is available to any user who needs to monitor the dynamics of cellular behavior in real-time, including high-throughput requirements. It is open to collaborations and partnerships both local, national and international, with academic and industrial stakeholders. It is used for training purposes at the UFR Health and Sciences of the University of Caen Normandy, thanks to its mobile iCELLigence system. It also offers hands-on training to users of impedance measurement systems and performs all or part of the analysis for which it is under contract, according to users’ requests. For specific services, the platform can work in close collaboration with Cybernano Company, which is specialized in the automated processing of xCELLigence data in the pharmaceutical/biomedical/cosmetic sectors.