Cell Processing

In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for production of high-purity cells for use in areas such as regenerative medicine and drug discovery research. Technologies for purifying adhesive cells do exist, such as cell sorters, but the stress these technologies place on the cells when sorting, and factors such as the impact of individual operators’ skill levels, mean there are inherent issues affecting throughput. Our CPD-017 cell processing device, developed right here at Kataoka Corporation, shoots laser light at the bottom of culture vessels coated with a photoresponsive polymer, which converts the light into heat that causes unwanted cells to die. Furthermore, equipping the system with AI deep learning capabilities in the cell identification process enables accurate, label-free, highly repeatable cell identification, and combining that with cell removal technologies results in a system that allows for simple cell purification by anyone anywhere.

Characteristics

Easy cell removal using lasers and photoresponsive polymers
Photoresponsive polymers convert the laser’s energy to heat, thus enabling for efficient removal of specific cells. Because the impact on the culture overall, including on neighboring cells, is minimal, this system dramatically improves cell sorting speed and accuracy.
・Requires no advance preparation or treatment of cells, e.g., coloring or dissociation, and can be used at any time.
・No impact on cells in the vicinity of target cells.
・Culture can be maintained continuously and cells purified because dissociation is not required.

Cell identification methods suited to user needs

Applications