Expert view: How automation can improve cell stability and productivity in cell line development

Over time, this variation in growth within the population can cause the low-producing cells to overtake the population by outgrowing the high-producing clones. Further rounds of subcloning are frequently carried  out in an effort to prevent losing the highest producers, although this is not always successful. By eliminating multiple rounds of subcloning, scientists can increase the likelihood of finding the best producers.

The innovative automated technology of Cyto-Mine^® offers a novel solution to overcome the need for laborious multiple sub-cloning steps by isolating and encapsulating single cells from large populations into picodroplets. The picodroplet acts as a microreaction chamber in which single cells can be assayed for productivity. These picodroplets are then selectively sorted based on the assay results and only the highest producing single cells are progressed for imaging and dispensing from Cyto-Mine^®.

By combining key steps of cell line development into one fully automated system, scientists can rapidly isolate single cells and selectively screen and identify cells that produce the most antibodies in a single round of cloning, all in a one-day workflow.