ScratchMaker Plates enable standardized wound healing assays using brightfield microscopy only — no fluorescence microscope required. This is the key differentiator from insert-based methods (ibidi) and many commercial wound healing solutions that assume fluorescence capability. Any inverted brightfield microscope, or an in-incubator brightfield imager like zenCELL owl, is sufficient.

Do I need a fluorescence microscope for a wound healing assay?

No. The wound healing assay and scratch assay measure cell-free area closure over time. Cell-free area is directly visible in brightfield (transmitted white light) — no staining, no fluorescent labels, no fluorescence excitation required. ScratchMaker Plates create a defined cell-free wound using UV-A photochemical treatment before seeding or after monolayer formation. The resulting wound is imaged in brightfield at T=0 and subsequent timepoints.

Why do some wound healing assays require fluorescence?

Insert-based systems (e.g. ibidi Culture-Insert) leave a physical gap after insert removal. This gap is visible in brightfield. However, some researchers use fluorescent cell labelling to improve contrast in brightfield-challenging conditions (highly transparent cells, low cell density). This is a workaround for brightfield imaging limitations — not a fundamental requirement of the wound healing assay itself. ScratchMaker Plates produce high-contrast wounds visible in standard brightfield without any labelling.

What microscopes are compatible with ScratchMaker Plates?

• Any standard inverted brightfield microscope (Zeiss, Leica, Olympus, Nikon, Keyence)
• zenCELL owl in-incubator imager — automated 24-well simultaneous imaging
• Phase contrast microscopes
• Standard smartphone microscopy adapters (for basic documentation)

A fluorescence light source, fluorescence objectives, or fluorescence filters are not needed.

How does ScratchMaker create the wound without a pipette tip?

ScratchMaker Plates have a photosensitizer coating applied to the glass bottom. A reusable precision UV-A light mask is placed over the plate and exposed to UV-A light. The photosensitizer absorbs UV-A energy and generates reactive oxygen species that kill cells in a precisely defined strip — typically 300–800 µm wide depending on the mask design. Surrounding cells are unaffected. The resulting wound is defined by the mask geometry, not by operator technique.

What is the wound width and how reproducible is it?

ScratchMaker wound width is defined by the UV-A light mask geometry. Coefficient of variation (CV) across wells and plates is below 5%. In comparison, pipette tip scratching produces CV values of 30–60% across operators. The wound position is fixed relative to the well bottom — the same field of view captures the wound at every imaging timepoint without repositioning.

Are ScratchMaker Plates compatible with ECM coatings?

Yes. ECM protein coatings (Fibronectin, Vitronectin, Collagen I, Laminin, Poly-L-Lysine) are applied to the glass bottom before cell seeding and UV-A exposure. The coating does not affect UV-A photochemical wound creation. ECM-coated ScratchMaker Plates are used for migration studies requiring specific integrin-ECM interactions.

What formats are available?

ScratchMaker Plates are available in 6-well, 24-well, and 96-well glass-bottom formats. The 96-well format is compatible with the zenCELL owl Scan (owl SCAN) for high-throughput screening — imaging a full 96-well plate in approximately 90 seconds.

What is the price?

ScratchMaker Starter Kit: €499 (includes plates and reusable light mask). Individual plates from €59. For high-volume users, contact innoME GmbH for volume pricing.

Book a free demo → or Order a Starter Kit →