Main Features

• High throughput single cell sorting directly from the Petri dish
• One single cell arrives to each PCR tube
• 10 PCR strips containing 80 tubes can be filled in a cycle
• Glass cover slip for testing single cell deposition in situ
• Drop volume less than 1 ul for adherent cells
• Pick up volume of ~1 nl for suspended cells
• 15-20 seconds per cell
• Isolates a subpopulation of live adherent cells expressing fluorescent or luminescent markers
• Both unlabeled and fluorescentcells are recognized by computer vision
• Viable cells after sorting
• Sorts cells labeled by fluorescent molecular probes highlighting specific cellular activities
• Collects single cells for further cultivation, cloning, RNA or protein preparation
• Any adherent and non-adherent cell type can be sorted
• Cell culture needs minimal preparation before sorting
• Average sorting process takes only a few minutes
• Multichannel detection using the fluorescent filter setup of the microscope
• When collecting multiple cells sorting speed is 1 cell/second. Number of cells picked up in a single run: 1-1000

Scientific References

Single Cell Isolation and Sorting

• Z. Környei et al.: Cell sorting in a Petri dish controlled by computer vision Nature Scientific Reports 3, Article number: 1088 (2013)
• R. Salánki et al.: Automated single cell sorting and deposition in submicroliter drops, Appl. Phys. Lett. 105, 083703 (2014)
• R. Salánki et al.: High-throughput image based single cell isolation, Microscopy and Analysis, January issue, S10-13 (2015)
• R. Ungai-Salánki et al.: Automated single cell isolation from suspension with computer vision, Scientific Reports 6, Article number: 20375 (2016)
• B. Francz et al.: Subnanoliter precision piezo pipette for single cell isolation and droplet printing, Microfluidcs and Nanofluidics 24: 12 (2020)

Single Cell RNA Sequencing

• M. Ngara et al.: Exploring parasite heterogeneity using single-cell RNA-seq reveals a gene signature among sexual stage Plasmodium falciparum parasites, Experimental Cell Research (2018)
• Payam Haftbaradaran Esfahani et al.: Cell shape determines gene expression: cardiomyocyte morphotypic transcriptomes, Basic Research in Cardiology 115(7) (2020)

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) isolation

• Marnie Winter et al.: Isolation of Circulating Fetal Trophoblasts Using Inertial Microfluidics for Noninvasive Prenatal Testing, Advanced Materials Technologies 1800066 (2018)

Protein Engineering

• K. Piatkevich et al. : A robotic multidimensional directed evolution approach applied to fluorescent voltage reporters, Nature Chem Biol, doi:10.1038/s41589-018-0004-9 (2018)

Single Cell Adhesion Force

• N. Sándor et al.: CD11c/CD18 Dominates Adhesion of Human Monocytes, Macrophages and Dendritic Cells over CD11b/CD18, PLoS ONE 11(9), e0163120 (2016)
• T. Gerecsei et al.: Adhesion force measurements on functionalized microbeads: An in-depth comparison of computer controlled micropipette and fluidic force microscopy, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 555, 245-53 (2019)

Robot Picking Single Cells Controlled By High Speed Valves

• CellSorter control unit with 2 high speed fluid valves and USB connection to the computer
• High precision micropipette holding console manufactured from hard aluminum equipped with LED illumination for micropipette focusing and connected to the motorized micromanipulator via a rotatable arm
• Special aluminum insert fitting to the microscope stage with a hole and magnetic fixing ring for the 35 mm Petri dish and 80 holes for 10 PCR stripes and a hole for a 32x24 mm2 glass cover slide for testing and high resolution imaging and a hole with a calibration cross hair
• Accessories, fittings and tubing for liquid control
• Compatible with most inverted microscopes
• Modular structure makes it versatile and helps to fit the device to the specific application

New Piezo electric Sorting Head

Pipetting nanoliter scale volumes is challenging due to several technical difficulties including surface tension, adhesion and evaporation effects. We developed a fully automated piezoelectric micropipette with a precision of 1 nanoliter. The piezo micropipette can be fully automated using either fluorescent or transparent illumination on a microscope.

• Compact design
• Excellent liquid handling precision: 0.1 nanoliter
• Outstanding >90% single cell isolation efficiency
• Built-in LED illumination for phase contrast imaging
• No tubes
• No syringes
• Control unit with USB connection to the computer

Comparison of CellSorter technology with competing methods

Software

• Intuitive graphical interface: single cell sorting is fun
• User friendly structure with brief tutorials
• Computer vision: exceptional cell recognition efficiency
• Saves all data for further analysis or publication
• Compatible with the open source Micro-Manager software
• Runs on MS Windows OS