Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2022
Organization: University of York
Excellent product to safely immobilizes motile cells
Application Area: Live cell fluorescent imaging of Leishmania promastigotes
"Without Cygel it would be almost impossible to obtain high-quality microscopy of motile forms of Leishmania parasites. The product is easy to use and gives a reproducible performance. I've used it to image Leishmania promastigotes that were modified to contain fluorescent proteins, in order to gain information on protein function. Cellular morphology remained unchanged by the embedding process and protein localization was not affected. Can highly recommend Cygel."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2019
Organization: University of Warwick
Excellent results.
Application Area:Leishmania mexicana live cell imaging
"CyGel was very convenient to use and I would recommend it to everyone working on leishmania."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2019
Organization: Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland
Excellent for mounting live cells for microscopy.
Application Area:Mounting bacteria for live cell confocal microscopy
"Cygel has been a great addition to my microscopy toolbox! It enables me to carry out imaging of motile bacteria without needing to fix them. Very easy to use, and seems to go a long way. Can highly recommend."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2016
Organization: KinaSense LLC
Excellent product, affordable, easy to use, and gave great results.
Application Area:Imaging non-adherent leukemia cell line for biosensor application.
"We used CyGel for imaging a K562 cell line to verify that our fluorophore-tagged biosensor is internalized by the cells. The product was very easy to use and worked according to the manufacturer’s description. There was no problem with CyGel interfering with our fluorescent signal using a standard fluorescent microscope for cell imaging. We think it was a very reasonable price for the ease of use and results we obtained. While we did not require follow up service, it was there for our assistance as needed."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2016
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
I achieved reproducible results in imaging and rescuing zebrafish larva using CyGel.
Application Area:Live Imaging of Zebrafish Larva
"Imaging mitochondrial dynamics requires that my sample be completely stationary and alive! CyGel allowed me to stabilize zebrafish larva and obtain time-lapse images of mitochondria. I was able to rescue the fish afterwards, so that fish could be imaged on multiple days if necessary."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2016
Organization: BioImagingMW
Reliable, user-friendly product
Application Area:Live cell imaging by confocal microscopy
"We have used CyGEL to immobilize Drosophila pupae for live imaging using a confocal microscope. Embedding of samples in glass bottom dishes is carried out using a fluorescence stereomicroscope. We find CyGEL more convenient than LMP agarose because it saves the hassle to melt agarose and have a heating block or water bath nearby to keep agarose liquefied. The only utensil required is a small container with ice to keep CyGEL in its liquid form. Toxicity was not an issue since samples survived 3D time-lapse imaging for five days (see http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/3/2/150517). Overall, we are very satisfied with this product."
Status:
ReviewerMember since: 2014
Organization: Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
Application Area:Confocal microscopy
"This is wonderful product to immobilize cells. It can be used also for immobilization of cells after cell sorting. Just sort cells on cool microscope slides and your cells will be immobilized during transport to confocal microscopy (as the slides will heat to room temperature). Just a very easy-to-use tool."
A thermoreversible gel compatible with LIVE cells.
It can be used to immobilise non-adherent cells and beads by simple warming, and conversely allowing their recovery by simple cooling.
CyGEL™ is unusual in that it is a liquid when cold and a gel when warmed!
What are the key benefits?
CyGEL™ has many applications in imaging, flow cytometry and cell-based screening. It is compatible with LIVE cells, usefully allowing their immobilisation for analysis and subsequent release for ongoing experimentation.
Key benefits include:-
Advantages: