Sodium Channel Assay Kit – ION Biosciences https://ionbiosciences.com Fluorescent Ion Indicators | Assay Kits Fri, 20 Feb 2026 21:35:48 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://ionbiosciences.com/wp-content/uploads/ION-Bio-100x100.png Sodium Channel Assay Kit – ION Biosciences https://ionbiosciences.com 32 32 Brilliant Thallium https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-thallium-assay/ Thu, 02 Nov 2023 21:20:00 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-thallium/

ION Biosciences’ Brilliant Thallium (Tl⁺) Assay is a total assay solution for multi-well plate-based, high-throughput measurements of Tl⁺ flux through K⁺, Na⁺, non-selective cation channels, and some Na⁺ or K⁺ transporters. The ION Biosciences’ Brilliant Thallium Assay is also useful for a wide range of effectors of ion channels and transporters including G protein-coupled receptors, lipid and protein kinase, for example. 

In multi-well, plate-based formats, the Brilliant Thallium Assay can be used to discover and characterize the effects of tens to many tens-of-thousands of compounds and environmental factors on effectors of Tl⁺ flux. Over the past 15 years, fluorescence-based measures of Tl⁺ flux have been widely utilized to discover small molecule modulators of a host of ion channels, transporters, GPCRS and other targets of interest for both drug discovery and basic research.

Our Flex kit provides all the necessary reagents in a format that maximizes flexibility for your assay design and optimization needs.

Our Express kit is custom tailored to customer’s needs, providing only the reagents you need in the amounts you need them. Less waste, higher reproducibility, and more convenience.

Data

How ION’s Brilliant Thallium Assay Outperforms the Competition

ION Biosciences Brilliant Thallium Assay excels in potassium channel assays, standing out among market leaders for its robust signal amplitude, high Z’, customizability, and cost-effectiveness.

Potassium channel assay dose response curve comparing Thallos AM to Fluxor made by ThermoFisher
Thallos AM outperforms ThermoFisher´s FluxOR dye in potassium channel assay
  • Higher Signal: 50% larger response
  • Better Z´: Clearly distinguish active from inactive compounds
  • Trusted by Industry: Validated by Large Pharmaceutical Company
Brilliant Thallium has a larger signal amplitude than FluxOR II Green
  • Greater sensitivity: Larger response means you can detect activity with confidence
  • Cost-Effective:Use less thallium per well, saving you more money for HTS campaigns
Potassium channel assay comparing Brilliant Thallium to Fluxor II Green made by ThermoFisher
Molecular Devices’ FLIPR Potassium Channel Assay compared to ION’s Brilliant Thallium Assay presented as a concentration response curve
FLIPR Potassium Channel assay (left) vs. Brilliant Thallium (right)
  • Assay Quality: Comparable Z´values ensure reliable hit identification
  • Comparable Potencies: IC50 values match Molecular Devices´kit across multiple compounds
  • Flexibility: Brilliant Thallium offers flexibility to run wash and no wash formats in the same box

Examples of ion channel and transporter assays

ION Biosciences’ Brilliant Thallium Assay is more than just a potassium channel solution. It can also be used to uncover modulators of voltage-gated sodium channels, transporters like KCC, non-selective cation channels, and Gi/o GPCRs.

Fluorescence profile of voltage gated sodium channel (Nav1.3) activation using veratridine with corresponding concentration response curve. Data acquired using a FLIPR-compatible Brilliant Thallium Assay kit
Fluorescence profile of voltage gated sodium channel (Nav1.3) inhibition using tetracaine with corresponding concentration response curve. Data acquired using a FLIPR-compatible Brilliant Thallium Assay kit
Brilliant thallium flux assay used for voltage-gated potassium channels. Data show fluorescence kinetic profiles and corresponding dose response curve of hERG channel inhibition.
Brilliant thallium flux assay used for voltage-gated potassium channels. Data show fluorescence kinetic profiles and corresponding dose response curve of KCNQ inhibition.
Brilliant thallium flux assay used for inward-rectifying potassium channels. Data show fluorescence kinetic profiles and corresponding dose response curve of GIRK activation.

Experience Superior Performance

ION’s Brilliant Thallium Assay isn’t just another option—it’s a superior solution for potassium channel assays and more. With Thallos AM at its core, our kit outperforms industry leaders like ThermoFisher and has key advantages against Molecular Devices too. Offering enhanced signal amplitude, greater sensitivity, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, Brilliant Thallium is designed to deliver reliable, high-quality data for your research.

Learn more

First time using thallium flux assays to measure ion channel activity? Read our step-by-step guide for how to turn raw kinetic traces into informative dose response curves.

Have a GFP-expressing ion channel, check out Brilliant Thallium Gold, our Brilliant Thallium Assay packaged with Thallos Gold, a red-shifted thallium indicator for projects demanding something other than a green dye.

Interested in learning how ION’s Brilliant Thallium Assay can help you discover a brighter future?

Talk to us with us today for more information or to request a sample.
Book a meeting
]]> Flow Cytometric Potassium Channel Assay https://ionbiosciences.com/store/flow-cytometric-potassium-channel-assay/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:27:06 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/?post_type=product&p=26729

Potassium channel assay data acquired using Flow cytometry. Activated GIRK channels have lower cell fluorescence than an untreated group. A kinetic plot reveals the change in cellular fluorescence over time between a treated and non-treated cell population.

Over the past 15+ years, fluorescence-based measures of Tl+ flux have brought about the discovery of small-molecule modulators of a host of ion channels, transporters, GPCRs and other targets of interest for both drug discovery and basic research.

ION Biosciences’ Flow Cytometric Potassium Channel Assay is the first assay solution for single-cell, high-throughput measurements of Tl+ flux through K+, Na+, non-selective cation channels, and some Na+ or K+ transporters. Powered by our patent-pending Snapshot assay technology, ion channel modulation generates a long-lasting signal so you can easily detect and quantify changes in ion channel or transporter activity using Flow Cytometry. Brilliant Thallium Snapshot has effectively identified agonists and/or antagonists of voltage-gated K+ (hERG) and Na+ (NaV) channels, inward rectifying K+ channels (GIRK1/2), and K+ and Na+ transporters (Na+/K+-ATPase).

ION’s Flow Cytometric Potassium Channel Assay provides all the reagents necessary for up to 200 flow cytometry assays. This assay is not compatible with fixed cells.

]]> Brilliant Thallium Gold Snapshot https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-thallium-gold-snapshot-assay/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:27:05 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/?post_type=product&p=26727
ION Biosciences Brilliant Thallium Gold Snapshot Assay is a total assay solution for multi-well plate-based, high-throughput measurements of Tl+ flux through K+, Na+, non-selective cation channels, and some Na+ or K+ transporters. Our patent-pending Snapshot assay format generates a long-lasting signal so you can easily detect and quantify changes in ion channel or transporter activity on most fluorescence-capable instruments. So whether you have a FLIPR, a fluorescence microscope, a standard fluorescence plate reader, a high-content imager, or a flow cytometer – you can run functional screens on viable cells using thallium flux – enabling a whole new world of possibilities.

Snapshot Assay Principle.

Drawing that shows thallos and thallium ion loading into cells, yielding bright fluorescence
Drawing that shows thallium efflux driven by the activation of a potassium channel, resulting in a lower thallos fluorescence
Kinetic fluorescence and image data demonstrating that brilliant thallium snapshot can enable potassium channel assays on plate readers and microscopes.
hERG inhibition assay, voltage-gated potassium channel (Kv11.1) activity assay, sample data acquired using brilliant thallium gold snapshot
Brilliant Thallium Gold Snapshot simultaneously loads cells with Tl+ and Thallos Gold AM, ION’s Tl+-sensitive indicator, prior to adding an agonist/antagonist. The addition of an effector compound causes a change in fluorescence, due to Tl+ efflux or influx, that is sustained for up to 1 hr, depending on your target of interest. Brilliant Thallium Gold Snapshot has effectively identified agonists and/or antagonists of voltage-gated K+ (hERG) and Na+ (NaV) channels, inward rectifying K+ channels (GIRK1/2), and K+ and Na+ transporters (Na+/K+-ATPase) using a variety of instruments.
]]> Brilliant Thallium Gold https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-thallium-gold-assay/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:27:00 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/?post_type=product&p=26703

ON Biosciences Brilliant Thallium Gold Assay kit is a total assay solution for multi-well plate-based, high-throughput measurements of Tl+ flux through K+, Na+, non-selective cation channels, and some Na+ or K+ transporters. The kit includes our proprietary Thallos Gold indicator (Ex/Em: 530/546 nm), which is responsive to intracellular Tl+ dynamics. Thallos Gold’s spectral properties allow for multiplexing with GFP-expressing cells or other green-fluorescent indicators, and will help mitigate false positives caused by auto-fluorescent compounds within a library. The ION Biosciences Brilliant Thallium Gold Assay is also useful for a wide range of effectors of ion channels and transporters including G protein-coupled receptors, lipid kinases and protein kinases.

Red-shifted excitation and emission spectra of thallos gold alongside an image of thallos gold loaded cells.
Thallos gold and thallos have comparable performance with respect to thallium binding and in an inward-rectifying potassium channel assay.
Data demonstrating that ION's Brilliant thallium gold assay is less perturbed by green fluorescent compounds than thallos.
hERG assay inhibition data demonstrated using ION's Brilliant thallium gold assay for voltage-gated potassium channels.

In multi-well, plate-based formats, the Brilliant Thallium Gold Assay can be used to discover and characterize the effects of many tens-of-thousands of compounds and environmental factors on effectors of Tl+ flux. ION Brilliant Thallium Gold Flex provides all the reagents necessary for use as a washed or no-wash assay with adherent or non-adherent cells. The optional use of a probenecid solution and an extracellular background masking solution offers the ultimate in compatibility for cells types which are difficult to load with fluorescent Tl+ indicators (e.g. Chinese Hamster Ovary, CHO cells) and when performing assays in complete, serum-containing cell culture medium is desired.

]]> Brilliant Sodium Assays https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-sodium-assays/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:26:59 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/?post_type=product&p=26698 Be sure to check out our new Brilliant Sodium 2 Assay for improved performance]]>

ION’s Brilliant Sodium Assay is a total assay solution for multi-well plate-based, high-throughput measurements of changes in intracellular Na⁺ mediated through a wide-variety of plasma membrane and intracellular sodium channels and transporters. In multi-well, plate-based formats, the Brilliant Sodium Assay can be used to discover and characterize the effects of many tens-of-thousands of compounds and environmental factors on effectors of intracellular Na⁺. ION’s Brilliant Sodium Assay provides all the reagents necessary for use as a wash or no-wash assay with adherent or non-adherent cells. The optional use of a probenecid solution and an extracellular background masking solution (TRS) offers the ultimate in compatibility for cells types which are difficult to load with fluorescent Na⁺ indicators (e.g. Chinese Hamster Ovary, CHO cells) and when performing assays in complete, serum-containing cell culture medium is desired.

ION’s Brilliant Sodium Assay is compatible with fluorescence microscopes, flow cytometers, and plate readers capable of detecting fluorescein or more optimally, yellow fluorescent protein (YFP).

Our Flex kit provides all necessary reagents in a format to maximize flexibility for your assay design and customization challenges. If you want a kit designed just for you, inquire about our Brilliant Sodium Express Kit.

Key Benefits:

Measuring the native ion ensures you:

  • Identify more hits
  • Advance better leads
  • Reduce false positives

 

Compatible with more instruments: 

  • FLIPR and FDSS
  • Fluorescence microscopes 
  • Flow cytometers 
  • Plate readers

 

Works for more than voltage-gated sodium channels:

  • Na+ transporters
  • Ligand-gated ion channels
  • TRP channels
Venn diagram and dose response curves showing hit correlation between ION’s Brilliant sodium assay and electrophysiology in a voltage-gated sodium channel assay (Nav1.x).

Patch clamp versus Brilliant Sodium

A small library screen (78 compounds) for Nav1.X inhibitors confirms accurate hit identification and strong IC50 correlation between Brilliant Sodium assay (ING-2) and the IonWorks Barracuda automated patch clamp system (EP). Dose response curves of 3 separate hits are also displayed. 

  • Accurate hit identification
  • Higher throughput
  • Affordability
Venn diagram showing hit correlation between ION’s Brilliant sodium assay, FLIPR membrane potential assay, and electrophysiology in a voltage-gated sodium channel assay (Nav1.x).

Brilliant Sodium vs. Membrane Potential Assays

Measuring the native ion instead of a surrogate can help you find more real hits and substantially reduce false positives in your HTS campaign. A screen (27,978 compounds) for Nav1.X inhibitors shows a 10% reduction in false positives with our sodium-selective assay when compared to FLIPR membrane potential. 

  • Save time and resources with fewer false positives
  • Don’t miss a potentially valuable hit
Dose response curves for voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav1.1 - Nav1.8) using ING-2 AM, the dye component in brilliant sodium.

Assay Nav1.1 – Nav1.8

Use Brilliant Sodium to discover modulators for all voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav1.x).

Kinetic traces of iPSC derived sensory neurons treated with Nav inhibitors and activators. TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive sodium channel activity is measured using Brilliant Sodium.

Works with iPSCs

Screen for Nav activity with endogenous expression levels in iPSC-derived sensory neurons. Distinguish between TTX-resistant and TTX-sensitive sodium channels. 

Download the full poster here
Dose response curves of a Nav1.3 assay run in kinetic and endpoint mode using Brilliant Sodium.

Endpoint compatible

Acquire exceptional data on almost any fluorescence-capable instrument, without the need for automation. Data shown is for a Nav1.3 inhibition assay.

  • No FLIPR, No Problem
Representative sodium channel (Nav1.3) data acquired using Brilliant sodium. Veratridine, an inhibitor of Nav channel inactivation, yields a dose dependent increase in intracellular fluorescence.
Sodium transporter assay data acquired using Brilliant Sodium Assay. Inhibition of Na+/K+-pump via ouabain results in increased intracellular sodium (Na+), which increases average cell fluorescence. A dose dependent response is observed.

Works for additional targets too

Brilliant Sodium be used to measure the activity of transporters like the sodium/potassium pump, SLC transporters, ligand-gated channels, and TRP channels as well.

Learn more

See how simple it is to incorporate Brilliant Sodium Assays into your workflow by watching this short how-to video for screening Nav1.5.

Review our detailed application note that walks you through the essential steps in conducting a high-throughput Nav1.5 sodium channel assay.

Working with complex co-culture systems? That’s not a problem for Brilliant Sodium! Read our blog post detailing how to acquire cell-specific CRCs from individual cell types in mixed cultures. 

Interested in learning how ION’s Brilliant Sodium Assay can help you discover a brighter future?

Talk to us with us today for more information or to request a sample.
Book a meeting
]]> Brilliant Thallium Snapshot https://ionbiosciences.com/store/brilliant-thallium-snapshot-assay/ Wed, 28 Jun 2023 19:26:59 +0000 https://ionbiosciences.com/?post_type=product&p=26702

Our patent-pending Snapshot assay format generates a long-lasting signal so you can easily detect and quantify changes in ion channel or transporter activity on most fluorescence-capable instruments. So whether you have a FLIPR, a fluorescence microscope, a standard fluorescence plate reader, a high-content imager, or a flow cytometer – you can run functional screens on viable cells using thallium flux – enabling a whole new world of possibilities.

Snapshot Assay Principle.

Drawing that shows thallos and thallium ion loading into cells, yielding bright fluorescence
Drawing that shows thallium efflux driven by the activation of a potassium channel, resulting in a lower thallos fluorescence
Using Brilliant Thallium Snapshot in a high-throughput assay with a plate reader or fluorescence microscope enables discovery of potassium channel activators in an endpoint assay.
Fluorescence kinetic profiles of GIRK channel activation using Brilliant Thallium Snapshot. A stable change in fluorescence is generated for up to 40 minutes, demonstrating endpoint compatibility.
High-content screening demonstration using Thallium Snapshot kit in a mixed co-culture of cells.

Brilliant Thallium Snapshot simultaneously loads cells with thallium and Thallos AM, ION’s Tl⁺-sensitive indicator, prior to adding an agonist/antagonist. The addition of an effector compound causes a change in fluorescence, due to Tl⁺ efflux or influx, that is sustained for up to 1 hr, depending on your target of interest. Brilliant Thallium Snapshot has effectively identified agonists and/or antagonists of voltage-gated potassium (hERG) and sodium (NaV) channels, inward rectifying potassium channels (GIRK1/2), and potassium and sodium transporters (Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase) using a variety of instruments.

ION Biosciences’ Brilliant Thallium (Tl⁺) Snapshot Assay is a total assay solution for multi-well plate-based, high-throughput measurements of Tl⁺ flux through K⁺, Na⁺, non-selective cation channels, and some Na⁺ or K⁺ transporters. The ION Biosciences’ Brilliant Thallium Snapshot Assay is also useful for a wide range of effectors of ion channels and transporters including G protein-coupled receptors. In multi-well, plate-based formats, the Brilliant Thallium Snapshot Assay can be used to discover and characterize the effects of tens to many tens-of-thousands of compounds and environmental factors on effectors of Tl⁺ flux. Over the past 15 years, fluorescence-based measures of Tl⁺ flux have brought about the discovery of small-molecule modulators of a host of ion channels, transporters, GPCRs, and other targets of interest for both drug discovery and basic research.

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