CASY Cell Counter – Accurate Cell Analysis Without Compromise
CASY is one of the most flexible cell counter available - no need to worry about finding the right one for your application.
CASY – can do it all.
It handles everything: cell lines, primary cells, PBMCs, stem cells, yeast, and bacteria. With easily exchangeable capillaries, CASY is ready for the future.
CASY can be equipped with up to 3 different capillaries, each optimized for a certain group of applications. Same time, switching between capillaries is easy and takes only minutes.
CASY – the principle
CASY measures the conductivity between 2 electrodes separated by a defined pore. Cells, suspended in CASYton buffer, generate electrical pulses as they pass through the pore. The pulse intensity directly correlates with cell volume, allowing CASY to accurately detect each cell´s size.
For hundreds of our GMP/GLP customers we regularly recertify CASYs precision, ensuring a maximum variation below ±2%.
Stain-Free Viability Control
CASY’s superior detection technology combines Electronic Current Exclusion (ECE) and Pulse Field Analysis (measuring cell signal at 1MHZ while passing through the pore) to accurately determine cell viability without staining or focusing.
Viable cells are detected with full cell volume as their intact membranes provide a barrier for current.
Dead cells lose membrane resistance, allowing current to pass through. Instead the much smaller volume of the nucleus is detected, which is easily distinguishable.
Aggregation - Nothing to worry about
CASY measures cell volume with ±2% precision, including aggregates. Unlike optical methods, CASY uses accurate, volume-based aggregation correction by calculating how many single cells fit within each aggregate. It reliably detects aggregation levels, even in sensitive cases like induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC).
The only thing CASY cannot beat is statistics – While CASY ensures precise results across various cell concentrations, statistical significance is the only limit. In other words, counting only 300 cells will result in higher variation and standard deviation compared to counting more than 1.000 or even 10.000 cells per measurement. But even for very low concentrated cells, CASY has a solution – simply increase the measured volume to up to 3.6ml.
Size matters - what cell volume can tell you
CASY’s golden rule: If you haven’t changed anything, but the size distribution looks different – Pay attention: There may be something you don’t know about your cells.
CASY’s volume based cell size distribution provides much more information than merely size. It can:
- Show level of homogeneity of cells
- Identify and quantify aggregation
- Provide indication of multiple cell types in a culture
- Provide insight in the status of your cells
- Warn you in case of contaminations
Identifying homogeneity of cells:
Sharp peaks represent extremely homogeneous cells like unstimulated CD4 T cells or stem cells from cord blood.
Medium size peaks are a more common type of distribution found with many cell types including fibroblasts or lager yeast.
Finally, broad peaks are common size distributions for extremely heterogeneous cells, like mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).
Detecting aggregates:
Asymmetric peak shape is a result of aggregation and can easily be analyzed using CASY’s volume-based aggregation correction.
Identifying changes in cell size:
- Increasing volumes, e.g. (baculo-) virus infection or starvation (red)
- Decreasing volumes, e.g. osmotic or effect of treatments (green)
Identifying mixtures of different cell populations:
- Mixture of high & low concentrated cell types, e.g. contamination or unwanted differentiation with stem cells
- Mixture of equally concentrated cell types
Determine contamination of media:
Unexpected peaks in the size range (red) may indicate media contamination. Measuring pure media (green) helps confirm and identify potential contaminants.
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