Handling of Cells and Extracellular Vesicles

AcouTrap principle

AcouTrap is a microfluidic platform where bioparticles are captured in an acoustic trap using gentle sound waves that keep the sample intact. The AcouTrap platform operates on a standard 96-well microplate format and can run up to 48 samples per plate. The system is automated and rapid, generating output samples with high quality.

Exosome isolation

AcouTrap can be used for enrichment and purification of exosomes and extracellular vesicles from various samples including plasma, urine and cell media. The AcouTrap exosome isolation protocol is automated and rapid, producing pure samples with removed background contaminants. AcouTrap is interfaced to a 96-well plate, allowing for automated sequential processing of samples. As opposed to ultracentrifugation, AcouTrap EV isolation requires minimal manual handling. The acoustic forces are very gentle, keeping the sample intact with maintained integrity.

Cell enrichment

The AcouTrap system is excellent for enrichment and purification of precious cells. The system efficiently handles low amounts of cells with very high recovery. Cells can be washed, enriched and up-concentrated from various media. The release volume is selected by the user and can be as low as 35 µl. The AcouTrap platform uses acoustic streaming to enhance binding kinetics, which allows for shortened incubations times. Reactions such as cell staining and antibody labeling can be performed in a rapid manner. The AcouTrap facilitates sample washing and can reasily remove background contaminants or unbound label.

Isolation of viruses and bacteria

The AcouTrap can also be used for isolation of other micron- or submicron-sized particles such as viruses and bacteria.

More information about the technology can be found here.