Scratch Assay

Finally, an experiment!

But before the fun begins, I have to introduce two new faces: Bronson (PhD Student) and Oscar (Undergrad Student). Together, they will be conducting the experiment while I observe. 

But here's the catch.... I had to wake up at 4:45 am. Yes, am. In order to view said experiment, I had to be on NAU's campus at 6:00 am. Now, there's no particular reason that the experiment had to be done this early, but according to Bronson, he's more of a morning person when it comes to doing research. Ugh, I am not a morning person no matter the cause. But it had to be done. For the greater good. For science! (okay, maybe a bit too dramatic)

Anyways, once on campus, I couldn't just stroll into the lab as I had imagined. Nope, the building's exterior doors were locked. I mean, sure, makes sense. It's not like anyone was expecting visitors at 6 in the morning. But, when you're half asleep and freezing, these thoughts don't go through your mind (at least, not mine). Long story short, Oscar managed to save me from turning into a human popsicle. 

Once in the lab, we couldn’t immediately start the experiment. Since we were creating scratch assays (hence the title), cells had to be grown a full week in advance to use today. So, the cell growth density for each sample had to be checked. This is important because, if the cells don’t grow to full density (pretty much cell next to cell) the test is scrapped, since the sample will not mock human skin. As it turned out, both samples were not fully grown. 

Now, why this happened, is still a big unknown. But regardless, the day wasn’t completely wasted. While we were sitting around wondering what could've gone wrong, we also discussed the experimental set-up. Here's what I learned: In general, scratch assays are effective for mimicking a wound in vitro. In this case, the assays will also be used to observe the effects of arsenic and estrogen in a wound. In theory, the arsenic-contaminated wounds should take longer to close than the control. Continuing this thought, the wound that has been treated with estrogen should hopefully close faster than the control. Now, the big question is, what happens if you treat the arsenic-contaminated wound with estrogen? Could the contamination process somehow be reversed? Only experimentation will tell.

Science... it can be a pain sometimes

-Tudor