The SemaCyte® Platform

SemaCyte® cell microcarriers leverage novel materials physics to move and freeze cells while retaining their adherent morphology. Our approach introduces flexibility, speed, and miniaturisation into existing drug discovery workflows. This unique approach to cell based assays makes it possible to produce better data, faster.

SemaCytes function as ultra-miniaturised, mobile wells which carry small colonies of adherent cells. These flat, walled cell microcarriers can be moved with liquid handling tools and their orientation can be controlled magnetically. SemaCytes can be used to measure additional experimental endpoints, prepare adherent assay-ready cells, and reduce the number of cells per well.

Enabling More Powerful Workflows with Cell Microcarriers

Move cells
while retaining their
adherent morphology

Increase assay flexibility and enable further workflow automation

e.g. subsample adherent cells to measure additional endpoints

Freeze adherent assay-ready cells in cryovials for on-demand use

Reduce assay preparation time to increase throughput by 2- to 20-fold

e.g. adherent assay-ready cells for rapid design-make-test-analyse cycles

Place less cells per well
while still retaining
high local confluency

Reduce the amount of adherent
cells per assay by 5- to 50-fold

e.g. ultra-miniaturise assays with primary cell materials in 96- or 384-well plates
Our SemaCyte Starter Kit is available through our Early Adopter Programme. For use cases and examples, have a look at the product page or our brochure.

Seamless Integration with Workflows

SemaCytes are created with microfabrication technologies, combining nanomagnetism, smart materials, and surface engineering.

Cell seeding can be done as usual by simply pipetting cells on arrays of immobilised SemaCytes.

Once the correct confluency and morphology is achieved, the SemaCytes are released into suspension for direct use or cryopreservation.

Cell-containing SemaCytes are dispensed into a well plate for screening assays involving plate readers or microscopes.

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SemaCytes are magnetically controlled, but do not interact with each other.

Resources

The SemaCyte® Multiplex Platform: Unravelling Nutlin-3a Cytotoxicity and p53 Induction

Applications
In this study, we employ a 4-plex cell panel as a proof of concept. Our results demonstrate that the SemaCyte® Multiplex platform establishes meaningful and biologically plausible associations between Nutlin-3a cytotoxicity and p53 induction. Specifically, we investigate A549, PC3, T98G, and HepG2 cells, which were pooled and exposed to serial dilutions of Nutlin-3a.
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The SemaCyte® Multiplexing Platform: Accelerating Image-Based Cell Panel Screening

Platform
The SemaCyte Multiplexing Platform pools diverse cell types within a single well, for a 6-fold reduction in screening time and 10-fold reduction in cost. This technology note outlines the platform, the workflow, the data analytics, and its potential.
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Enhancing Cell Assay Efficiency: Rapid Assessment of A549 Cells Frozen on SemaCyte® Microcarriers

Applications
SemaCyte® microcarriers enables cryopreservation of fully adherent A549 cells in standard cryovials. Batch production ensures uniformity across longitudinal studies.
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