Advances in Cell Biology

Advances in the study and use of living cells have been nothing short of remarkable over the past several decades during which I have made my career in this field. Fundamental discoveries in basic cell biology research continue to impact applied research and medicine in profound ways, and at an ever quickening pace. The use of living cells as protein factories in biopharmaceutical manufacturing is at the heart of a vibrant $50 billion growth industry, providing both economic and health benefits to millions of people worldwide. The transplantation of living cells to treat a wide variety of illnesses continues to grow and gain acceptance, changing the lives of tens of thousands of patients every year. The use of cell-based screening has rapidly become a standard approach to improve and enhance the drug discovery and development process. Many of these improvements have originated with the advent of innovative technologies that enabled researchers to do more and go further than those before, resulting in new capabilities and exploitations of living cells that have transformed our lives.

Being trained first as an engineer and then later as a biologist, I have developed a unique perspective in the way engineers can solve biological problems. The founding of Cyntellect was the result of such a realization – that novel engineering approaches could provide solutions to address the need for better cell analysis, purification, and manipulation capabilities. Cyntellect has created a new core technology platform that is based on employing the proven principles of laser-based medicine via semiconductor manufacturing technology, with the aim of progressing the use of living cells. This core technology combined with broad spectrum illumination, galvanometer-driven mirrors & F-theta lens technology, was used to develop our two instrument platforms – the LEAP and Celigo systems – both of which represent best-in-class products with unique capabilities.

If you look into any cell culture incubator, you will find cells where they spend most of their time – where they are happiest in the lab – in the bottom of a microplate well or a culture flask. Furthermore, the vast majority of cell types grow in an adherent state, attached to the substrate and often to other cells, which allows them to exhibit the most physiologically relevant behavior. Cyntellect’s core technology allows living cells to be analyzed, purified, and manipulated in situ while they are in their most natural state in the well or flask, significantly improving the accuracy and biological relevance of your research. Moreover, the elimination of cell harvesting steps improves cell yield and work flow, minimizes contamination risks, and allows analysis of cells in a non-invasive and non-destructive manner – you can use the same cells you analyze for downstream work. I believe these attributes are very powerful and enabling for a number of high impact areas of research.

As a company, we are very pleased to be working with some of the best researchers in the field, helping to further their research in important areas including drug discovery & development, stem cells & regenerative medicine, biopharmaceutical manufacturing, and other exciting fields. I firmly believe that we are still in the early stages of discovering and implementing the use of living cells to improve the state of human being, and I look forward to developments, those imagined and yet to be imagined, that are sure to come.

Manfred R. Koller, Ph.D. – President & CEO, Cyntellect