RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cell Microsystems, a provider of innovative tools and scalable solutions for the sorting and isolation of single cells, announced today the first commercial sale of its automated AIR™ System for the imaging, sorting and isolation of single cells and small colonies. Albert Einstein College of Medicine investigator Jan Vijg, PhD, acquired the system as a component of Einstein’s already extensive core facilities and their recent foray into single cell genomic technology.
The company’s CEO, Gary Pace, PhD, JD, described the accomplishment saying, “Having a world-class team like Dr. Vijg’s at Einstein as the first purchaser of the AIR™ System is excellent validation of the product’s capabilities, value and commercial potential. We look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with their team and others as we continue to enhance the capabilities of the AIR™ System.”
The AIR™ System is based on the core CellRaft™ Technology which allows single cells to be cultured in an array of thousands of microwells contained in the proprietary CytoSort™ Array consumable. After imaging each cell using the system’s 3-channel fluorescence and brightfield capabilities, users can select cells for subsequent isolation and downstream molecular analysis or culture of clonal colonies. The system is generally utilized by researchers focused on single cell genomic analysis or genome editing methods such as CRISPR.
Moonsook Lee, MS, Laboratory Manager in the Vijg lab, described the AIR™ System as, “very useful to pick single cells and nuclei. It works very well even with very small collection volumes of 1 and 2.5 microliters.”
The system is also being used in neighboring laboratories for its capabilities to isolate clonal colonies in genome editing workflows. Yizhou Zhu, a graduate student in the laboratory of Yousin Suh, PhD, observed the AIR™ System’s unique capabilities, saying, “the system really allows us to do imaging-based characterization of genome edited cells that we otherwise couldn’t do. We are very excited to have the AIR™ at Einstein and have a lot of experiments planned for it.”
Cell Microsystems’ Director of Product Applications and Market Development, Nick Trotta, PhD, indicated that the remainder of 2018 and beyond will be an exciting time for both the company and the underlying technology. “We are seeing a lot of enthusiasm for the AIR™ System in a lot of different markets, including single cell genomics, CRISPR, drug screening, therapeutic protein manufacturing and even diagnostics. It seems that every sector of life science research is eager for a flexible, easy-to-use single cell isolation platform and the AIR™ System meets or exceeds many of the key criteria.”
The company was recently listed as one of the top awardees of NIH funding in the state of North Carolina and will be exhibiting its products at upcoming life science conferences including the American Society for Human Genetics and the joint American Society for Cell Biology/European Molecular Biology Organization, both in San Diego later in 2018.
About Cell Microsystems
Cell Microsystems is an early growth stage company that develops, manufactures, and markets innovative products for single cell biology. The Company’s proprietary CellRaft™ Technology enables high-efficiency sorting and isolation of single cells under standard culture conditions resulting in unperturbed phenotypes and high viability. Coupled with the Company’s automated imaging platform, a user can select a cell in real-time and ‘track and trace’ that cell through imaging, collection and downstream analysis. By sorting during real-time imaging, no cells are wasted enabling single cell isolation from even small, precious samples. The CellRaft Technology offers scalable solutions making cell separation technology available for every lab. For more information, visit: https://cellmicrosystems.com/.
