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As white blood cells responsible for immune function are suspension cells that travel along blood vessels, immunology studies often use various suspension cell lines originating from white blood cells. Dealing with suspension cells, unlike adherent cells, slight movement of a plate when locating it on the microscope causes the cells to float. Aside from the problems caused by temperature and CO2 instability, it is in fact not possible to use a traditional microscope to monitor cells in real time. Therefore, in order to stably monitor suspension cells, a live cell imaging device such as Celloger® Mini Plus that operates inside an incubator is essential1. In addition, with Celloger® Mini Plus, the camera inside the system moves to capture the images of cells in multiple positions to keep the cell sample in a steady state instead of having a movable stage with a plate on it. When the suspension cells were monitored both by Celloger® Mini Plus and microscope, imaging with Celloger® Mini Plus was more stable compared to using a microscope in which several cells were out of focus (Figure 1).

In the process of ‘cell cycle’, cells grow and divide into two genetically identical daughter cells. It is regulated by a complex signaling pathway which keeps cell homeostasis by regulating cell division and DNA duplication1. On the other hand, because cancer cells grow and divide indefinitely out of cell cycle control, anti-mitotic drugs are used to suppress abnormal proliferation of cancer cells2. In particular, Nocodazole is known to be a representative anti-mitotic drug for cancer treatment, and it has the characteristics of disturbing microtubule dynamics during cytoplasmic and nuclear division3,4.

Cytotoxicity refers to the degree of damage to cells.   caused by chemical substances or physical factors. Measuring it through cytotoxicity assay is essential for drug development and biological research. Cells undergo complex signaling pathways that causes various cell death processes such as apoptosis, necrosis, and necroptosis. However, most cytotoxicity assays are measured at the endpoint that makes it difficult to study the dynamic response of cells to drugs.

In 2022, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 37 new drugs, of which 20 were chemical entities and 17 were biologics. In 2023, drug discovery remains strong with many new advancements a result of changing landscapes in both the types of drugs that are being developed and the new and innovative assay that are being launched to evaluate drugs preclinically. Therapeutic development is still highly focused on diseases that affect large populations of people for which there are lack of effective treatments, with 2023’s most anticipated drug launches expected to be in areas of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, and ulcerative colitis.

On December 29, 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was signed into law, which allows alternatives to animal testing for new drug development. This has opened the door for new pathways to drug discovery and development that involve Artificial Intelligence, cell culture-based assays, and organ-on-chip applications. It also moved the field closer to the three Rs of animal testing: