16 July 2009 - A collaboration between Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Becton Dickinson and Company has yielded a product that can simplify the process of identifying cancer cells.
BD Intrasure is being sold by Becton Dickinson and Company and allows scientists to study particles on the inside of cells, or intracellular markers, by flow cytometry - a technique commonly used in the research of leukaemia and lymphoma.
Some markers are on the surface of cancer cells but most are inside the cells.
The intracellular markers are usually tested on solid tissue samples, which take a day or two to process.
Performing the research by a flow cytometry takes a couple of hours.
The BD Intrasure reagents support this research tool by ensuring that cancer cells are opened up to reveal the intracellular markers while being kept in a suitable morphological state.
Medipex, the NHS Innovation Hub for Yorkshire and Humber, played a pivotal role in developing the relationship between Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Becton Dickinson and Company, who at the time were looking for a product that provided a broader spectrum of research use than its current technology.
