NanoCellect’s WOLF Cell Sorter Attracts Additional $2.8M from NIH

San Diego, CA, November 26, 2014 --(PR.com)-- NanoCellect Biomedical announced new NIH funding and technical advances on their WOLF Cell Sorter. NanoCellect has the goal of making the “coin star” for cell biologists. “Instead of pennies and nickels, we are counting and sorting specific cells,” says José Morachis, CEO and co-founder of NanoCellect. Analysis of pure cells is increasingly critical for cellular and molecular applications such as cell therapy and stem cells. The NIH recognizes this need and has awarded NanoCellect a Phase II SBIR research grant from NIGMS and a Phase II contract from NCI to support NanoCellect’s flow cytometry technology. NanoCellect has won over $6M in NIH awards.

Since 2009, NanoCellect Biomedical, Inc. has developed and commercialized novel microchip-based cell sorting technology. Their first product, the WOLF Cell Sorter uses a closed fluid-path microfluidic cartridge that enables easy-to-use cell sorting and avoids biohazard and shear stress issues associated with traditional cell sorters. At the heart of the WOLF Cell Sorter is a disposable microfluidic chip with integrated sorting technology that immensely simplifies analysis and sorting of distinct cells from a heterogeneous population. A major advantage is the elimination of sample contamination between runs and increased cell viability after low pressure sorting. Plus, the WOLF Cell Sorter is aerosol-free—avoiding containment systems.

The WOLF Cell Sorter prototype has demonstrated a 250% improvement in cell viability over traditional systems when sorting stem cells. The technology can gently sort cells at 99% purity with almost no loss of viability. This is critical for downstream applications of gene expression and sequencing. It has also shown success in sorting rare cells such as circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood samples. NanoCellect is now incorporating feedback from early adopters to improve the user experience.

In five years, NanoCellect has taken its technology from concept to prototype and customer testing without any outside funding. This rare accomplishment is due to strong SBIR backing from the NIH and lean startup principles. NanoCellect is now seeking a Series A investment round and strategic partnership to launch their technology.