Vivid Microscopy Detects Early Stages of Heart Disease Using an Animal Model

The high-content screening probes from Vivid Microscopy are now available for wide distribution through Kerafast, a biotech supplier

FREMONT, CA: "Vivid Microscopy's product was the only technology we were able to find that can detect glutathione in living cells. SEMKUR-IM was the only product that could be made up in our physiologic salt solution and then infused. Most other fluorescent products required cell or tissue fixation first, which wouldn't allow us to study in real-time how glutathione levels change during the response to stimuli such as intraluminal fluid flow or drug agonists," stated Dr. Evan Tracy of the University of Louisville, working under the direction of Dr. Amanda LeBlanc.

Vivid Microscopy, a biotech company operating in the United States, unveiled that SEMKUR-IM, its high-content screening probe, was successfully used in a post-menopausal study on coronary microvascular disease (CMD). 

Over 3 million women suffer from microvascular dysfunction yearly, leading to chest pain and shortness of breath. A specialized form of ultrasound or an angiogram is the current detection method. Heart failure and massive heart attacks can result if microvascular dysregulation signals are left undetected.

The University of Louisville published a study in Antioxidant & Redox Signaling that examined four conditions of cells using various indicators. The probe developed by Vivid was groundbreaking as it could detect all stages of CMD affecting the blood supply to the heart with minimal standard deviation. SEMKUR-IM can differentiate the severity of conditions based on fluorescent technology and assess the effectiveness of drugs intended to treat them.

Vivid's probe was used in the University of Louisville study to determine whether new cardiovascular treatments are effective. A key advantage of SEMKUR-IM is that it can significantly improve a patient's quality of life while decreasing mortality rates, making it a valuable tool for developing drugs and interventions for heart disease, according to Jayson Kurfis, CEO of Vivid Microscopy.

These pre-clinical evaluation tools are now available at kerafast.com, an online platform providing researchers with unique lab-made bioresearch supplies.