Immunology – the science and study of the immune system and the body’s system of defense against disease – has been an important field of medical research since 1798, but recent advancements are shedding more light on the physiological functioning of the immune system. While immunology has applications in a wide range of medical fields, cancer and infectious disease research have emerged as two critical areas of study garnering intense interest and investment from the sectors of academia, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

Cancer research is constantly evolving, with scientists and clinicians always striving to improve diagnostics and treatment. New approaches that employ the immune system to target and attack disease are advancing the collective understanding and diagnosis of cancer, offering an alternative to the traditional means of treatment. These traditional treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation, are not specifically targeted to the tumor, nor are they specifically tailored to the patients. As a result, these treatments often include harmful side effects that are deteriorative to the body. Immuno‐oncology, on the other hand, uses the patient’s own immune system to tailor a solution, thus presenting a more attractive solution; however, it requires comprehensive information about the patient’s cell types and immune response.

A company committed to providing powerful solutions, Cytek Biosciences assists in such situations with cutting-edge technology that enables scientists to rapidly and efficiently obtain deep biological insights through high-quality parametric datasets. Cytek advances cancer and cell biology research using a powerful cell analysis technique called full spectrum flow cytometry. “Advancements that we have achieved will help immunologists and cell biologists revolutionize not only a single field, but rather the face of biomedical research as a whole,” says Wenbin Jiang Ph.D., CEO, Cytek Biosciences. 

The recent global COVID-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated the devastating impacts that infectious diseases can have on human health and economic stability. Cytek is providing scientists with powerful and efficient research solutions to promote the development of new treatments to effectively battle the constantly evolving landscape of infectious disease. Cytek technology was used to study the ways in whichSARS‐CoV‐2 affects the human immune system, insights that have led to the development of vaccines that changed the course of the pandemic. By providing information on patients’ immune responses, Cytek technology has helped address the issue of patient outcomes and further the understanding of why certain individuals require hospitalization after infection while others remain asymptomatic.

Next-Gen Full Spectrum Flow Cytometry

Cytek’s innovative Full Spectrum Profiling technology offers researchers a comprehensive view of a patient’s immune response from a single patient sample. Cytek Aurora and Northern Lights systems are highly flexible, intuitive, ultra-sensitive cell analysis solutions that collect more light from every fluorochrome, allowing for richer single-cell data. In cases where it might be difficult to obtain multiple patient samples, such as in pediatric oncology, Cytek’s full spectrum instruments and reagent offerings streamline the research process so scientist scan collect more information per sample to answer the toughest questions in oncology research.

With the Cytek Aurora system, the company has unlocked the capability to detect more than 40 different cellular markers from a single sample, completely outpacing the previous industry standard (28 parameters). “While conventional instruments use a single primary detector to find each fluorescent marker, on the Aurora system we use differences in full emission spectra signatures across all detectors (up to 64) and all excitation lasers to resolve the issue of spectral overlap to detect new unique fluorochrome combinations that were previously impossible,” adds Jiang.

Cytek’s full spectrum instruments have also eliminated the need to reconfigure the instrument settings before each assay, a time-consuming task required on other flow cytometry instruments. With its optimal design panel and expanded fluorochrome options, the Aurora system delivers lab solutions at a lower cost with higher precision and accessibility than was previously possible with conventional solutions.

Change Agents for Clinical Research

Cytek solutions provide increased flexibility to scientists and offer impressive alternatives to addressing research issues. With the ability to run more complicated assays and assess a wider variety of colors, Cytek also offers reagent kit solutions that give researchers an excellent starting point to launch into multiparametric experiments.

Cytek technology offers the best performance‐to‐price solutions in the industry based on accessible biomarkers, sensitivity, throughput and sorting capabilities, relative to costs associated with instruments, consumables, time, labor and ability to reconfigure over time. “Our compact, efficient equipment streamlines laboratory processes, reducing costs and maximizing results in cell analysis,” says Jiang. 

In one case study of Cytek streamlining workflows and delivering higher levels of information and biological clarity from each sample, researchers used Cytek’s full spectrum flow cytometers to consolidate a larger number of parameters into a 1‐tube assay, yielding a far more efficient approach. In this particular case, it was difficult to collect multiple samples; gaining a comprehensive view of data from a limited sample source was not only important, but also vital. By reducing sample and reagent use, sample preparation time, and acquisition time, Cytek’s technology has both streamlined the research analysis process and made it possible to overcome many of the shortcomings that had faced researchers as well.

The Company Reimagining Cell Analysis

Cytek’s mission is to remake the flow cytometry technological frontier entirely. Cytek has developed solutions that do not merely improve upon existing methods of cell analysis but rather outpaces the previously set standards altogether. Today, as experimental questions and designs grow increasingly complex across the medical frontier, Cytek plans to continue creating solutions to make high-complexity, high-resolution data more accessible in a more efficient manner. “Our technology will adapt to the needs and the advancements of our users, evolving to accommodate the most complex experimental designs and research questions,” concludes Jiang.

“Advancements that we have achieved will help immunologists and cell biologists revolutionize not only a single field, but rather the face of biomedical research as a whole.”

Wenbin Jiang Ph.D.
Management
CEO
cytekbio.com