Vycap – single (rare) cell identification and isolation

VyCAP technology consists of a filtration, a microscopy and a puncher system for isolation of single cells based on immunostaining and size. When starting from whole blood, first, a density gradient centrifugation step is necessary to separate the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from the plasma and the red blood cells. After fixation, permeabilization and staining of the PBMCs, the cell suspension is filtered using disposable microwell chips. The membrane is microscopically flat, rigid, has a very high chemical and thermal resistance and has no auto-fluorescence. Single cells with a cell-size larger than the pore diameter block the pore, which stops the flow through that pore. After filtration, the chip is transferred to the fully automated fluorescence microscope with dedicated software to acquire multicolour fluorescence images of the single cells in the wells. A gallery of images is then created and wells containing a single cell of interest can be selected. The selected cells are isolated with a needle that punches out the bottom of the well together with the cell, but without touching the cell.

Read more on the Vycap website...
 

Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, NXTGNT, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, 9000 Gent
 

• responsible PI and contact: prof. Filip Van Nieuwerburg
• Vycap
• NXTGNT