Owl biomedical (formerly J2D BioMedical) is a biotechnology company which develops automated microchip-based high-speed cell sorting technology in a closed cartridge system. Their cell sorting product is named MACSQuant Tyto. The system does not need intensive training and is not destructive to the cell structure and function. The system is capable of cell throughput of up to 200 million cells/hour, and the cell sorting system can be used for separating sensitive cells like granulocytes and stem cells for medical treatments and T cell therapies.
MACSQuant Tyto is a bench-top microchip-based cell sorting system that doesn’t rely on sheath fluid, high pressure or generates aerosol to perform cell sorting. The system uses 8-color fluorescence-based sorting and one of the fastest cell sorting valve technology capable of 10-parameter cell sort using lasers. The system’s ability to sort cells without droplet formation, decompression and charge make it ideal for sorting sensitive cells like granulocytes and stem cells.
The device includes input, positive, and negative selection chambers. The process begins by introducing a cell mixture into the input chamber through a cartridge. The sorting microchip is configured with a pre-defined sort profile to target relevant cells. The device is then started to begin sorting. The cell mixture passes through the microfluidic channel towards the micro-valve. As the mixture pass through the channel, 3 lasers interrogate the cells to identify target cells. The identification of the target cell triggers the micro-valve, which divert target cells to a positive selection chamber and the rest get collected in the negative selection chamber.
The device uses disposable cartridges to keep cells sterile and eliminate the need for cleaning in-between sorts to prevent contamination.
Demetri Argyropoulos founded the company in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was acquired by Miltenyi Biotec on April 23, 2013, and operates as its subsidiary.
