BD Influx Cell Sorter
On May 13, 2008, BD announced the acquisition of Cytopeia, a privately held Washington corporation based in Seattle that develops and markets advanced flow cytometry cell sorting instruments.
“This strategic acquisition brings new technologies and capabilities that will enhance BD's ability to address growing customer needs in advanced applications, such as cell therapy research,” said William A. Kozy, BD Executive Vice President. “This transaction reflects our commitment to bringing innovative tools to life scientists and will allow us to rapidly enter emerging areas of cell-based research.”
Cytopeia’s Influx cell sorter (now sold by BD Biosciences as the BD Influx™) offers an open, configurable cell sorting platform that can be fully optimized for researchers' unique application-specific requirements. This high level of choice and control is particularly important for life science research on the leading edge of biomedical discovery. The BD Influx cell sorter is suited for a range of applications including cell therapy research, stem cell research, drug discovery and development, as well as marine biology. It complements the BD FACSAria™ II system—the platform of choice in research labs around the world for a broad range of immunology cell sorting and multicolor applications.
Through the acquisition, BD gains the scientific leadership and insights of Dr. Ger van den Engh, a renowned innovator in flow cytometry. Dr. van den Engh will join BD Biosciences, a segment of BD, as Vice President, Advanced Cytometry. In this role, he will manage continuing research and technology development activities in Seattle.
“In addition to access to BD Biosciences unparalleled portfolio of cellular research tools, Cytopeia's customers will benefit from our high-quality manufacturing and global customer support capabilities,” Kozy said.
Optimized for specialized applications
Over the past few years the system has been configured for a number of specialized applications. One example is its use in marine biology. In this configuration, a module to determine the polarization of scatter or fluorescent signals is used to distinguish certain organisms that cannot be identified by traditional fluorescence measurements. A full spectrum analyzer, also applicable in marine biology applications, allows researchers to measure the difference in spectral properties of natural pigments. In addition, a high dynamic range forward scatter detector can be added to the configuration to allow accurate scatter measurements of small particles.
Quick-exchange fluidics
Single-use sort nozzle assemblies and quick-exchange, gamma-irradiated tubing allow researchers to replace fluidics to achieve aseptic conditions and prevent possible cross-contamination between samples. A variety of nozzle sizes are available to accommodate a wide range of particle sizes. Researchers in cell therapy and cell cloning in industrial environments will benefit from these features.
Customized hood
A customized hood, featuring HEPA filtering and UV lamp irradiation, can be adapted to enclose BD Influx configurations, for operator and product protection.
High-speed sorting and single-cell deposition
The BD Influx system can sort at high speeds to support a variety of applications including quick enrichment of rare event populations. In addition, the Computerized Cell Deposition Unit (CCDU) built into the BD Influx allows for automated single cell deposition for cloning or single-cell PCR. The unit is fast and configurable and can be adapted to user-defined collection devices.
Small footprint
The BD Influx cell sorter has been kept small and can fit even in tight conditions. Built-in brackets fit ship-based research lab requirements.