Image-based digital sorter, which guarantees the retrieval of the individual cell of interest, even from small or heterogeneous samples
The DEPArray NxT system is a digital image-based sorter, which guarantees, with a high degree of purity, the recovery of the single cell of interest, even from small or heterogeneous samples.
Downstream analysis on the specific population is not compromised by the presence of other cell types and contaminants, cell fragments and false positives.
The heart of the DEPArray NxT system technology is the cartridge, a device that integrates a silicon microchip, microfluidic chambers and valves, onto which the sample is loaded with the cells of interest to be isolated.
The cells loaded onto the cartridge are trapped on its surface according to the electrokinetic principle of Dielectrophoresis (DEP). Each cell is analysed by a five-channel fluorescence microscope capable of acquiring high-resolution images.
Bright-field imaging coupled with fluorescence p-signals (of appropriately labelled cells) allows accurate selection of the cell of interest based on a combination of physical and biological parameters, including cell size, shape, circularity and fluorescence intensity.
The analysis software allows automatic or operator-guided identification of the cell of interest and its subsequent retrieval.
The DEPArray system allows the isolation of the single, pure and intact (viable) cell from a heterogeneous sample, enabling the study of the biological significance of rare cells in disease development, progression and therapeutic response.