Enrichment, isolation and molecular analysis of rare cells

We deliver your cell of interest

We support our clients in finding the best suited strategy for rare-cell enrichment and isolation, work out concepts for research and diagnostic applications, and give advice on or perform functional and downstream molecular studies.

Our commitment is to drive innovative therapeutic approaches by decoding the underlying mechanisms in complex diseases on a single-cell level.

We offer our clients our expertise in the analysis of rare cell populations from fluids, tissue biopsies, and paraffin-embedded specimens. Our focus is on solid cancers, e.g. the analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and disseminated cancer cells (DCCs), however, our technologies can be adjusted for different fields of interest, such as stem cells in neurodegenerative diseases or regenerative medicine. Our expertise ranges from the development and implementation of individual enrichment and staining strategies to the isolation of pure cell populations, down to a single target cell.  

© Fraunhofer ITEM, Ralf Mohr

Our services and expertise

Enrichment of rare cell populations:

Marker-dependent enrichment  (including FDA-approved CellSearch® technology for CTC detection), marker-independent enrichment (microfluidic and filtration-based technologies), fluorescence activated cell sorting, laser capture microdissection, application of established staining protocols or implementation of customized solutions for your target of interest

Isolation of pure single cells:
Single-cell micromanipulation, dielectric cell sorting of single cells (DEPArrayTM technology)

Molecular analysis of single cells and subpopulations:
Single-cell whole-genome and whole-transcriptome amplification technologies (Ampli1TM WGA and WTA, developed for Silicon Biosystems by Fraunhofer ITEM’s team in Regensburg and the University of Regensburg, Germany), superior quality control assays for WGA and WTA samples to identify high-quality samples suited for your intended downstream analyses (developed for Silicon Biosystems by Fraunhofer ITEM’s team in Regensburg, Germany), application and development of targeted molecular assays for single-cell analysis, solutions for high-throughput analysis of nucleic acids (microarray analysis, RNA-sequencing, whole-exome sequencing and whole-genome sequencing of single cells)

Accredited lab for single-cell diagnostics (in cooperation with the University of Regensburg):
Access to a sample biobank generated from single CTCs/DCCs of patients with different cancer types for biomarker research and target validation, correlation with clinical follow-up possible for many samples, perfect environment for translational research within clinical studies

Contact

Christoph Andreas Klein

Contact Press / Media

Prof. Dr. Christoph Andreas Klein

Division Director of Personalized Tumor Therapy

Phone +49 941 298480-55

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Bernhard Michael Polzer

Contact Press / Media

Dr. Bernhard Michael Polzer

Manager of the Working Group on Cellular and Molecular Diagnostics

Phone +49 941 298480-23