Home Cell Biology Migration Assay
Steps
  1. 1 Prepare migration assay materials --:--
  2. 2 Set up migration chamber or insert 01:20
  3. 3 Prepare cell suspension and load chamber 02:40
  4. 4 Add chemoattractant to lower chamber 04:00
  5. 5 Incubate for cell migration 05:10
Cell Biology YouTube (Curated Tutorials)

Migration Assay

Protocol
Difficulty
intermediate

Steps

1
Prepare migration assay materials

Gather and organize all necessary equipment and reagents for the migration assay procedure. Set up the workspace and ensure all components are ready for use.

▶ --:--
2
Set up migration chamber or insert

Assemble the migration chamber or prepare the transwell insert according to protocol specifications. Position the chamber in the culture plate and prepare the barrier membrane.

▶ 01:20
3
Prepare cell suspension and load chamber

Prepare the cell suspension at the appropriate concentration and load cells into the upper chamber of the migration insert. Ensure even distribution of cells across the membrane.

▶ 02:40
4
Add chemoattractant to lower chamber

Add the chemoattractant solution or appropriate stimulus medium to the lower chamber to establish the migration gradient. Ensure proper concentration for optimal cell migration.

▶ 04:00
5
Incubate for cell migration

Incubate the migration assay at appropriate temperature and time duration to allow cells to migrate through the membrane toward the chemoattractant. Monitor timing according to experimental protocol.

▶ 05:10

🚨 Failure Case Library (5) + Submit your own case

severe
Too few cells migrated through the membrane — barely visible
Field of view shows only a handful of cells on the lower surface of the insert; counts are too low for meaningful statistics.
💡 4 · ✓ 4
moderate
Too many migrated cells — packed solid, can't count
Lower surface is densely covered with cells that fuse together; individual cells cannot be counted.
💡 4 · ✓ 4
moderate
Staining is too light — cells hard to discern
Cells on the membrane are very faintly colored; impossible to count confidently or photograph clearly.
💡 5 · ✓ 4
moderate
Staining is too dark — high background obscures cells
Background is deeply stained; non-specific stain swamps the cells; hard to distinguish migrated cells from background.
💡 4 · ✓ 4
moderate
Cells are unevenly distributed across the membrane — poor reproducibility
Different fields of view show wildly different cell density; replicate inserts disagree.
💡 4 · ✓ 4
💬 Comments coming soon