I recently tested the ibidi anti-evaporation oil in a cell migration assay. It worked well in maintaining the medium height—the oil-treated wells showed minimal evaporation, while the untreated controls dropped significantly after ~12 hours on a spinning disk confocal.
One concern I noticed is that adding oil on top effectively increases the total fluid column, which may impose additional hydrostatic pressure (or load) on the cells. That said, I didn’t observe obvious changes in cell morphology or migration behavior in this setup.
I’m curious how others think about this trade-off.
When using anti-evaporation oil, do you consider the potential mechanical effect from increased medium height? Have you seen any subtle impacts on cell behavior, or is this generally negligible in your experience? Thanks for your feedback.