Labcyte, the company that developed and commercialized the acoustic transfer of liquids announced that the Japanese patent office has granted patent 4309131 that covers the design of an acoustic-based system that can sort cells based upon acoustic or other properties and then eject them specifically from a mixed population.

"This patent extends our intellectual property and expands our geographical positioning," said Rich Ellson, chief technical officer of Labcyte Inc. "This, our second Japanese patent, is part of our expansion throughout the Pacific Rim and it increases our portfolio to 48 patents across Japan, Europe and the US."

"Until this patent, cells have been differentiated by optical methods," said Ellson. "This patent doubles the detection methods available. Coupled with the acoustic detection of cells is the specific selection and transfer of cells acoustically. Cell transfer via acoustic methods is gentle and eliminates the effects of shear stress seen when cells are pushed through a narrow tube, as is done with pipette tips."

"We expect that our technology as described in this patent will advance the science of cell sorting. It also continues to solidify Labcyte as an innovator in the arena of acoustic sciences," said Ellson. "Our technology significantly improves the results of high-throughput screening in drug discovery as well as genomic research, including applications in PCR-based gene expression, RNAi studies and SNP analyses. Our platform technology is also being applied in other fields such as array formation, the microencapsulation of compounds, mono-dispersed particle production, proteomics research, the transfer of ultra-viscous materials, cell-based biology and imaging mass spectrometry."

Labcyte uses sound to move liquids. This green technology provides significantly better analytical results while saving money.