Compare our Single-Cell Dispensers
Explore key specifications and capabilities across the CYTENA single-cell dispenser portfolio to determine which system best fits your application.
Specification Chart
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B.SIGHT![]() |
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| Short Description | All-in-one single-cell dispensing, imaging, and clonality platform for cell line development. | Fluorescence-enabled single-cell dispenser for cell line development and omics applications. | Entry-level image-based single-cell dispenser for streamlined cell line development workflows. | Microbial cell isolator. |
| Compatible Cell types (non exhaustive) |
MAMMALIAN · PLANT · NUCLEI |
BACTERIA · YEAST | ||
| Cell size |
5–40 μm |
0.5–20 μm | ||
| Droplet volume | ~200 pL | ~50 pL | ||
| Minimum recommended substrate volume | 1 μL | 1 μL (in media or on agar) |
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| Dispensing plates | 96- and 384-well plates | |||
| Compatible plate height | Up to 27 mm, including low-profile deep-well plates | |||
| Processing time | Single-cell dispensing, 96-well plate: ~2 min Single-cell dispensing, 384-well plate: ~8 min |
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| Nozzle channels | Brightfield Green fluorescence (Ex 488 nm) Red fluorescence (Ex 561 nm) |
✕ |
Brightfield Green fluorescence (Ex 488 nm) Red fluorescence (Ex 561 nm) |
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| Automated Offset Correction (AOC) | ✓ |
✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Bottom imaging channels |
Brightfield
Green fluorescence (Ex488nm/Em520nm +/- 36 nm)
Red fluorescence (Ex634nm/Em694 +/- 28 nm)
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✕ |
✕ | ✕ |
| Bottom imaging plate format | 6-, 12-, 24-, 48-, 96-, and 384-well plates | ✕ |
✕ | ✕ |
| Well bottom imaging time | ~6 min per plate | ✕ |
✕ | ✕ |
| Footprint | 635 × 400 × 286 mm / 25.0 × 15.7 × 11.3 in | |||
| Automation | Compatible with standard automation arms and grippers Compatible with virtually any third-party scheduler |
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| Weight | 40 kg | |||
| FDA 21 CFR Part 11 compatible |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Feature Chart
| Feature | Benefit |
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B.SIGHT![]() |
| Image-based gated dispensing | Dispense cells according to size and roundness while excluding debris and doublets. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fluorescence-based gating | Apply additional GFP-channel fluorescence filtering to include or exclude labelled cells. | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
✓ |
| Image-based proof of monoclonality | Capture image evidence that a single cell, rather than a cell aggregate, was dispensed. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Low-shear dispensing | Support gentle handling of sensitive cells and help maintain cell viability during dispensing. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bottom optics with fluorescence channels | Support fluorescence-based titer assays, cell count and confluency measurements, and VCD assessment. | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Automated Offset Correction (AOC) | Support OMICS applications by helping cell-containing droplets land centrally, including in low-volume buffers. | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| CLD campaign management with C.STUDIO | Manage clone-centric campaigns with centralized clone intelligence and AI-powered analysis. | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Dispensing up to 40 single cells per minute | Support high-throughput workflows, including rapid dispensing of a full 96-well plate. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Image-based, gated single-cell isolation of microbes | Enable deterministic isolation of low-abundance or previously unculturable species. | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Workflow automation | Integrate into automated workflows, including custom setups and CYTENA automation systems. | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Trusted by Pharma, Industry, and Academia
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“Axxam has revolutionized the limiting dilution process with the UP.SIGHT instrument over the past year. We experienced the power of this remarkable tool with its intuitive interface and double assurance of clonality, enabling us to accelerate the production of stable monoclonal cell lines expressing a diverse range of targets for our high-throughput screening campaigns.”
Paola Picardi Principal Scientist, Axxam -
“UP.SIGHT is a very gentle and reliable cell dispensing system that allows for automation of assuredly monoclonal cell line generation with our very large and fragile protoplasts. The UP.SIGHT is easy to handle and easy to integrate into the existing lab due to its small footprint.”
Nicola Krieghoff Strain Development, Scientist, eleva -
“The instrument [B.SIGHT] is handy and super user-friendly. The machine is ready to sort after a quick quality control step and adaption of sort settings. It sorts single cells reliably. Due to the usage of cartridges cross-contamination is not an issue anymore and cells are sorted alive and happy since they are kept in their needed buffer during the entire sort process. An in-built laser enables us to differentiate between fluorescently labelled and unlabelled cells, which makes the whole cell sorting process even more precise.”
Dr. Magdalena Unterer Doctoral Researcher, Helmholtz Munich -
“We can isolate one cell, one clone that has the exact desired genome, and we need to prove from a regulatory purpose that there is just one cell in any well. For this purpose, we selected the UP.SIGHT, where we make use of the double clonality assurance to be confident in the results."
Suzanne Snellenberg PhD Vice President Cell Line Development, Cellistic -
"The F.sight device is easy to use and, thanks to the use of sterile cartridges, does not require any complex cleaning procedures and prevents cross-contamination. The cells to be dispensed can be selected and reliably dispensed on the basis of size, roundness and fluorescence. The dispensing of the individual cells is documented with the aid of a camera, which also provides good quality control and documentation for each cell afterwards. Due to its small size, the F.sight can be operated in a sterile bench.”
Dr. Rainer Will DKFZ Heidelberg -
"Single cell efficacy: 70-93%; Colony efficacy: 58-91% (after optimization). The plating effort (to get single cells) can be lowered compared to limited dilution and FACS single cell deposition by the factor 4-5."
A. Mayer-Bartschmid, Senior Scientist, Bayer -
“This instrument [F.SIGHT] is a very reliable, cost-efficient and gentle cell dispensing system, which greatly reduces premature cell lysis and avoids debris, duplets, and clumps through its sophisticated optical control parameters. Cells can be efficiently selected based on size and roundness. In addition, the f.sight optionally allows the use of fluorescence as an optical selection parameter for gentle selection of e.g. GFP-labelled or antibody stained cells.”
Kathrin Kattler Postdoc, Universität des Saarlandes -
"When using the single-cell printer, the number of monoclonal cell lines increased 6-fold compared to the limiting dilution process, therefore increasing the number of pools that could be cloned. By implementing both of these technologies, the cell line development process can be decreased from 9 months to 6 months."
A. Mahé Scientist, Novimmune -
"ExcellGene SA relies on the Cytena Single Cell Dispenser, which offers both single cell dispensing and imaging capabilities. This technology provides documented evidence of clonality for all dispensed cells, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the resulting cell lines. The user-friendly nature of Cytena devices makes them invaluable tools for streamlining and optimizing laboratory workflows."
Stéphanie Anchisi Head of Cell Line Development, ExcellGene SA
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a single-cell dispenser?
A single-cell dispenser is a piece of automation-ready laboratory equipment that enables researchers to isolate individual cells quickly, easily, and without compromising cell viability and integrity for a variety of downstream processes that require that require single cells, for example the generation of monoclonal cell lines.
How do single-cell dispensers work?
CYTENA’s single-cell dispensers utilize microfluidics technology to isolate and dispense single cells at very low-pressure precisely. It consists of a dispensing chip that rapidly produces microdroplets from the sample inside a disposable cartridge, combined with high-resolution optical microscopy and real-time image analysis to guarantee the dispensing of single cell into individual wells of a microplate.
What cell types can be dispensed using your instruments?
Our single-cell dispensers are compatible with mammalian, insect, and microbial cells. Any mammalian cell up to 40 µm in diameter, and microbial cells up to 20 µm, can be dispensed and isolated with the devices. Some common cell types used with a CYTENA single-cell dispenser include CHO cells, HEK293 cells, iPSCs, T cells, primary cells, yeast cells, bacterial cells, microbiome, and environmental samples.
Can your single-cell dispensers be integrated with other laboratory automation systems?
Yes. CYTENA's single-cell dispensers can be integrated into a lab automation system. The lid opening and closing can be automated, and our instruments are compatible with standard automation arms and grippers, as well as third-party automation clients.
We additionally offer C.STATION, an automated workstation specifically designed to automate the CLD workflow.
How long does it take to dispense one plate of single cells using your single-cell dispensers?
Isolation of single cells into a 96-well plate takes only 2 minutes, while a 384-well plate takes about 8 minutes. The duration may vary depending on the sample concentration, but our single-cell dispensers are designed with ease and speed in mind.
Are the dispensers compatible with 96- and 384-well plates?
Yes — CYTENA single-cell dispensers isolate cells into either standard 96- and 384-well microtiter plates, so they fit straight into existing workflows.
Can CYTENA single-cell dispensers sort or read fluorescent cells?
Yes — F.SIGHT, B.SIGHT, UP.SIGHT and C.STATION carry a 488 nm laser (replaceable with 561 nm on request) and can gate on fluorescence in addition to size and roundness to either include or exclude labelled cells. The entry-level C.SIGHT dispenses on morphology only, without fluorescence.
Do I need to centrifuge plates after cloning to confirm a single cell?
No. You can simply let the cell sediment at the well bottom. Alternatively, with UP.SIGHT's 3D Full Well Imaging, the full liquid volume is imaged right after dispensing while the cell sinks in, so a single cell is verified without the extra centrifugation step traditional imagers require or any waiting time — saving time and handling.
Is the AI analysis run on-instrument or in the cloud?
On-instrument. AI-based cell counting and VCD run locally on the AI.SIGHT workstation — no cloud upload, no black box — keeping your data in-house.
What's the difference between C.SIGHT, F.SIGHT and UP.SIGHT?
C.SIGHT is the entry image-based dispenser. F.SIGHT adds a fluorescence channel and AOC centre-of-well precision. UP.SIGHT is the all-in-one system, with a plate bottom imager that adds a second, in-well assurance of clonality (>99.99%), tracks Day-x clone growth (cell count and confluency), enables VCD and titer assay readout and advanced clone analytics for early selection with C.STUDIO.





