Anti-Aging Assays

For studying general and specific aging processes, we supply – besides a variety of assays for determining cell viability/proliferation, senescence, cytotoxicity and cell death/apoptosis, as well as cellular/oxidative stress (see the preceding page) and epigenetics – also some convenient and reliable assays for analyzing protein degradation (e.g. collagenase/MMP-1 and gelatinase/MMP-9) and glycation.

In addition, we also offer a variety of biochemicals such as inhibitors and activators that can be used with the respective assays as well as antibodies and other useful products for cellular analysis.

The process we call aging is presumably induced by multiple, probably synergistically acting factors – such as free radicals/ROS, UV rays, pollutants, metabolic disorders and cellular waste products – that cause damages to the structure and functions of molecules, cells, organs, etc. (e.g. oxidative stress, glycation, telomere shortening, side reactions, DNA mutations/methylations, and impaired degradation of abnormal, oxidatively modified proteins due to declined proteasome activity). This progressive, accumulating damage leads to the development of pathological, degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s
or Parkinson’s disease, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, macular degeneration and ultimately to death.
UV radiation, for example, causes photoaging, which is involved in the processes leading to wrinkle formation, skin decoloration etc. UV light is one of the factors that can trigger biochemical processes that in turn generate ROS/free radicals and activate metalloproteinase enzymes (MMPs/collagenases and gelatinases) with a subsequent breakdown of skin collagens and decline in collagen biosynthesis as well as glycation leading to Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs).