CompuCyte expands iGeneration line of imaging cytometers to include four-laser versions

CompuCyte Corporation, the pioneer in the field of imaging cytometry instrumentation and the leading supplier of laser scanning cytometers, announced that it has expanded its state-of-the art iGeneration line of imaging cytometers to include four-laser versions of the iCyte®, iCys® and iColor® systems. With the option of four excitation lasers chosen from a palette of 405, 488, 532, 561, 594 and 633 nanometers, these newly released analyzers dramatically increase system flexibility when using multiple fluorescent and chromatic dyes and take the definition of high-content cellular and tissue analysis to a new level.

Mel Henriksen, CompuCyte's Vice President of Research and Development, explained the significance of the company's technological advance. "The recent development of fluorescent proteins that emit light in the cyan, green, yellow, and orange regions of the spectrum has had a significant impact on multicolor cellular imaging experiments, greatly expanding the range of such experiments that can be undertaken with laser scanning cytometry technology. With the introduction of this new functionality, our customers can capitalize immediately on the availability of these remarkable fluorescent proteins. We are also pleased with an additional benefit of the new hardware - our instruments are renowned for their robust and reliable performance, and the new hardware design provides even greater operational stability."

"The instrument configuration with violet, blue, yellow, and red lasers is an instant winner with researchers," stated Dr. Elena Holden, CompuCyte's President and CEO. "It allows them to take full advantage of the most efficient members in the new 'fruit' series of fluorescent proteins, while at the same time providing full coverage of the chromatic dye absorption spectrum. The four-laser instruments offer researchers unmatched flexibility in the choice and combination of dyes, both fluorescent and chromatic. As a testament to the value of these new products, the first LSC upgrades were pre-ordered in March, in anticipation of their scheduled release in the fall of 2009. New instrument shipments began in November," she said.

"The four-laser iCys is an important tool in our cancer research," stated Dr. Alexei Protopopov, Director of the Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory and Senior Scientist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. "The added laser gives us tremendous flexibility in dye selection and allows more stains to be used simultaneously, providing unprecedented multiplexing capabilities in our analyses of cells and tissues. We can now look at a number of indicators of tumor cell behavior simultaneously -- telomere erosion, centromere dynamics, and expression of specific proteins, for example. CompuCyte's new four-laser instrument represents a major step forward in high-content cellular and tissue analysis, greatly facilitating our understanding of cancer."