CYTENA receives the Innovation Award of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg – Dr. Rudolf-Eberle-Prize 2017

The manipulation, sorting and analysis of single biological cells has been rapidly gaining attention in the life-science sector over the last couple of years. CYTENA’s single-cell printer is a laboratory instrument for handling and sorting living single cells that serves as an innovative tool in this field. Researchers in pharmaceutical industry and basic research appreciate the novel technology for clonal cell line development as well as for single-cell analysis. Compared to alternative technologies, the single-cell printer has many unique advantages, but most importantly, it is fast and gentle even to the most sensitive cell types. The core of the instrument, the printing cartridge, is a single-use disposable to eliminate the risk of cross-contamination, while enabling the encapsulation of single cells in free flying tiny liquid droplets of similar size as produced by inkjet printers. The low-dead-volume of the cartridge allows for use of small liquid volumes and rare cell samples. During operation, the system acquires and stores microscope images of each printed cell, for post-analysis. In addition, this data provides assurance that exactly one single cell is delivered to the target. This assurance of clonality is of major importance for clinical approval procedures in the pharmaceutical industry.