The Neuro Probe C48TM template is a thin piece of plastic with a pattern of holes identical to the pattern of wells in a Neuro Probe AC48 48-well chemotaxis chamber. The template is used to help locate the spots of cells on polycarbonate filters after they have been stained. For most assays it is not necessary to use the template since there are usually many cells, and the stain is very visible. But if there is very little migration of cells, or if the stain used is not visible, it can be difficult to distinguish cell sites on the filters from spaces between sites.
See the C48TM product page for prices and more information.
The AC48 chamber was not originally designed for use with the C48TM template and the chamber does not have a built-in way of registering the template to the filters. Position the template on the filter in the following way:
Prepare the bottom wells of the chamber in the standard way except leave empty four wells, two in each filter area, at diagonally opposite corners. Assemble the chamber with the filters in place. Using an indelible pen or inked cotton swab, mark a spot on the filter in the center of each of the four unused wells. Do not press too hard, or the filter will be displaced or punctured. (To ink a cotton swab, cut the cotton end off a cotton swab that has a cardboard – not plastic – stem and wet the end with an indelible magic marker.)
After the assay is complete and the filters are stained and flattened with immersion oil on a glass microscope slide (see Staining Polycarbonate Filters), align the spots on the filters with the corresponding holes in the template. The template frames the cell sites, and the filter is ready to be viewed under a microscope.