Developing Bio-Rad's S3™ Cell Sorter: The Great Cell Sorting Redesign

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Bio-Rad Laboratories

"For more info, visit http://www.bio-rad.com/yt/3/S3 Watch this video to see how some of the design innovations in the S3 Cell Sorter came about, including a unique automated method for calculating drop delay. How do you reimagine a technology that’s successful, accepted, and already in relatively widespread use? If the technology in question is cell sorting—a key method in immunology that’s now becoming more popular in other bioresearch areas—you “think outside the box” by designing to “fit inside the box.” That’s a neat formulation for Bio-Rad’s effort to develop the S3 Cell Sorter, which was conceived to put the power of cell sorting into an easy-to-use benchtop instrument. The first truly walk-up cell sorter, the S3 delivers an easy-to-use, affordable solution for busy scientists. The S3 cell sorter is an automated benchtop cell sorter featuring either one or two lasers and up to four fluorescence detectors plus forward- and side-scatter detectors. The S3 cell sorter is ideal for sorting cells expressing fluorescent proteins such as eGFP, DsRed, and mCherry or cells bearing fluorescent markers such as labeled antibodies. Features and Benefits • Simple instrument setup — automated drop delay calculation and droplet break-off monitoring enables precise 1–4 color sorting with minimal training • Compact footprint — only 70 × 65 × 65 cm (2.3 × 2.1 × 2.1 ft) including onboard fluidics and temperature control system • Reduced carryover — dual-position loading stage ensures the sample line remains clean between sorting runs • 2-way cell sorting — sort two different defined populations at the same time • High speed and high purity — sort cells fast while maintaining high sensitivity and purity • Intuitive interface — user-friendly ProSort™ software enables effortless instrument control and sort logic definition http://www.bio-rad.com/en-us/product/s3-cell-sorter?WT.mc_id=yt-GXD-ww-s3-20140514-WzHYxa0poOQ"