SUCCESS STORY
Contact:
Ingo.Waldeck, Product Line Manager
Email: ingo.waldeck@coherent.com
Lasers Enable Automated Cell Line Instruments from CYTENA
The Challenge
CYTENA, Freiburg, Germany, was started in 2014 with a mission to deliver automated and highly efficient instruments
for improved cell line development. Based on the founders’ background in Micro- Systems Engineering they identified
a broad need to benignly obtain a single live cell from a sample with 100 % reliability and verifiability. Previously, used
methods used were repetitive dilutions making extensive use of time-consuming manual pipetting. Target customers
included pharma labs for example, who must be able to proof to regulatory bodies like the FDA that a line of cells
originates from a single cloned mother cell.
The Solution
Dr. Lena Lautscham, Lead R&D Scientist at CYTENA, explains, “CYTENA developed and patented core technology
that’s somewhat similar to an inkjet printer. The company chose laser fluorescence imaging as the best technique to
rapidly screen droplet for a single cell just before it is released from the instrument’s disposable cartridge nozzle. Most
of these instruments use a 488 nm OBIS laser from Coherent; we use other OBIS wavelengths to satisfy custom
requests.” The image is captured on a CMOS camera, and image analysis software then determines key sorting criteria
about the cell in real time. If the droplet contains a single cell of the user-specified type, it is dropped into a collection
tube or wellplate well. Any droplets with no cells, dead cells, other cell types, or multiple cells are vacuumed into a tube
and discarded.
First generation instruments and software targeted simple cell sorting – dispensing by size and shape . The company
then extended the technology to use fluorescent markers to assess cells for specific proteins, differentiate between life
and dead cells and would enables more than one cell type to be dispensed in a single run.
Dr. Lautscham states, “The OBIS lasers give us three important main advantages for our instruments. They have the
superior beam quality we need to ensure our optics always provide uniform illumination of the target volume. They
have the unit-to-unit consistency that is critical for our instrument quality and performance. And they provide long-term
stability/reliability which virtually eliminates the need for field service due to any laser issues.”
The Result
The ongoing market success of their single cell dispensers has been leveraged by CYTENA to diversify into other
biotechnology automation products. The company was acquired by CELLINK in 2019, bringing a strong international
sales and support network. The resultant growth is evidenced by a 500 % increase in workspace and a 600 % growth
in personnel, and more importantly by the 200-plus laboratories worldwide that now rely on CYTENA instrumentation.
“OBIS lasers give us three
important advantages for our
instruments – superior beam
quality, unit-to-unit
consistency, and long-term
stability/reliability.”
— Dr. Lena Lautscham, Lead R&D Scientist, CYTENA,
Freiburg, Germany, a CELLINK company.
Lasers Enable Automated Cell Line Instruments from CYTENA
“OBIS lasers give us
three important advantages
for our instruments –
superior beam quality,
unit-to-unit consistency,
and long-term
stability/reliability.”
—Dr. Lena Lautscham, Lead R&D Scientist, CYTENA,
Freiburg, Germany, a CELLINK company
The Challenge
CYTENA, Freiburg, Germany, was started in 2014 with a mission to deliver automated and highly ecient instruments
for improved cell line development. Based on the founders’ background in Micro- Systems Engineering they identi-
ed a broad need to benignly obtain a single live cell from a sample with 100 % reliability and veriability. Previously,
used methods used were repetitive dilutions making extensive use of time-consuming manual pipetting. Target
customers included pharma labs for example, who must be able to proof to regulatory bodies like the FDA that a line
of cells originates from a single cloned mother cell.
The Solution
Dr. Lena Lautscham, Lead R&D Scientist at CYTENA, explains, “CYTENA developed and patented core technology
that’s somewhat similar to an inkjet printer. The company chose laser fluorescence imaging as the best technique
to rapidly screen droplet for a single cell just before it is released from the instrument’s disposable cartridge
nozzle. Most of these instruments use a 488 nm OBIS laser from Coherent; we use other OBIS wavelengths to
satisfy custom requests.” The image is captured on a CMOS camera, and image analysis software then deter-
mines key sorting criteria about the cell in real time. If the droplet contains a single cell of the user-specified
type, it is dropped into a collection tube or wellplate well. Any droplets with no cells, dead cells, other cell types,
or multiple cells are vacuumed into a tube and discarded.
First generation instruments and software targeted simple cell sorting – dispensing by size and shape . The com-
pany then extended the technology to use fluorescent markers to assess cells for specific proteins, differentiate
between life and dead cells and would enables more than one cell type to be dispensed in a single run.
Dr. Lautscham states, “The OBIS lasers give us three important main advantages for our instruments. They have
the superior beam quality we need to ensure our optics always provide uniform illumination of the target vol-
ume. They have the unit-to-unit consistency that is critical for our instrument quality and performance. And they
provide long-term stability/reliability which virtually eliminates the need for field service due to any laser issues.”
The Result
The ongoing market success of their single cell dispensers has been leveraged by CYTENA to diversify into
other biotechnology automation products. The company was acquired by CELLINK in 2019, bringing a strong in-
ternational sales and support network. The resultant growth is evidenced by a 500 % increase in workspace and
a 600% growth in personnel, and more importantly by the 200-plus laboratories worldwide that now rely on
CYTENA instrumentation.
SUCCESS STORY
Contact:
tech.sales@coherent.com
www.coherent.com
© 2021 Coherent, Inc.
|
www.coherent.com
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08.2021