Yokogawa Releases Single Cellome Unit for Use in Biological Research

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced that it has developed the SU10 Single Cellome Unit, a device that uses a nanopipette to inject substances, such as genes and drugs and aspirate intracellular materials, at target locations in individual cells.  Targeting the biological research market, the SU10 is being released on March 18 in Japan, with release in other markets, such as the US, to follow at a later date.

Through the development of such solutions, Yokogawa's life innovation business is fostering the development of an industry centering on the use of smart cells, i.e. finely-designed, expression-controlled biological cells.  There is keen interest within the cancer and immunology research fields in the use of single-cell analysis to clarify the causes of diseases and study pathological conditions, and this is expected to lead to advances in drug discovery research and the development of precision medicine and regenerative medicine.  With the aim of fostering the development of a smart cell industry, Yokogawa has developed the SU10 for use by researchers in single-cell analysis.

Major features of SU10 include:

Minimally invasive nanopipette

The SU10 enables the injection of substances, such as genes and drugs and the aspiration of intracellular materials, at targeted locations in individual cells.  In contrast to the micrometer-sized pipettes that are used to perform such tasks, the tip of the nanopipette used in the SU10 has an outer diameter of approximately one hundred nanometers (nm), making it one of the smallest pipettes available for use in the biology research field.  The tip of this nanopipette is much smaller than the cells that are analyzed with the SU10, making it minimally invasive and thereby allowing single-cell analyses of living cells.  The company’s nanopipette technology was developed by BioStinger, Inc., a US-based company that Yokogawa acquired in November 2019.

Improved efficiency through the automation of analysis

The SU10 automates a series of processes, starting with the detection of a cell surface and continuing with the penetration of the cell surface and the injection and aspiration of materials to and from the cell, all operations that up till now had to be performed manually by skilled researchers.  With the SU10, injection and aspiration operations can be performed easily on living cells.

Major targeted users include universities, colleges, and research institutes that engage in life science research, in addition with pharmaceutical and food companies.

In April 2018, Yokogawa established a Life Innovation Business Headquarters with the goal of promoting well-being for all.  In addition to engaging in existing life science and manufacturing solutions businesses targeting the pharmaceutical and food industries, the headquarters works with the company’s customers to develop new products and services that make use of Yokogawa's core measurement, control, and information technologies, and provide one-stop solutions that revolutionize productivity throughout the pharmaceutical and food industry value chain, from basic research to manufacturing, logistics, and services.