Lab-on-a-chip technologies exploited by Agilent and Caliper with the introduction of bioanalyser cell assay extension and cell fluorescence LabChip kit
Agilent Technologies and Caliper Technologies have introduced the Agilent 2100 bioanalyser cell assay extension and a cell fluorescence LabChip kit for the Agilent 2100 bioanalyser. Jointly developed by Agilent and Caliper, the new products enable biochemists, molecular-, protein- and cell-biologists to perform cell assays, thereby making the 2100 bioanalyser the industry's only platform able to analyse RNA, DNA, proteins, and now cells.
Customers using the cell assay extension and the cell fluorescence LabChip kit will benefit from the ease of use of the personal system and the low cell consumption.
Applying lab-on-a-chip technology, it is possible to automate the analysis of six samples, each including up to 25,000 cells.
The Agilent 2100 bioanalyser cell assay extension: together with the newest version of the Agilent 2100 bioanalyser the cell assay extension provides additional capability for pressure-driven sample movement in addition to the existing electrokinetic liquid movement and electrophoretic separation capabilities.
The new capability also further extends the application portfolio of the bioanalyser from molecular separation assays to simple flow cytometric analysis, for a broad range of cell parameters and a variety of cell samples.
Analysis of endogenous fluorophores like green fluorescent protein (GFP), extra- and intracellular-antibody staining as well as apoptosis detection by Annexin-V binding are the first applications.
Further applications are expected to be developed in the future.
Cell fluorescence LabChip kit: cell assay applications such as fluorescently labelled Annexin-V for apoptosis detection, as well as monitoring of transfection efficiency by antibody staining or GFP detection, are now possible in addition to the existing electrophoresis-based separations.
The new cell fluorescence LabChip kit provides special chips and reagents that allow analysis of up to six pre-stained cell samples per chip.
The Agilent 2100 bioanalyser is one of the only commercial systems that allow analysis on one microfluidic platform of important biomolecules such as DNA, RNA, and proteins, as well as that of whole cells.
With lab space being scarce in many companies, Agilent and Caliper are responding to a critical customer need by exploiting the flexibility that can only be achieved by lab-on-a-chip technology.
The Agilent 2100 bioanalyser cell assay extension and the cell fluorescence LabChip kit are both available now.
Shipments of all cell assay products for the Agilent 2100 bioanalyser are expected to begin in late October.
