C-FREE Technology

C-FREE technology employs advanced laminar flow principles to delicately wash suspension cells and beads, effectively eliminating the need for centrifugation during buffer exchange. By controlling the flow velocity near the bottom of the container and keeping it close to zero by a robotic pipette, the technology prevents disturbance to the particles, minimizing mechanical stress and cell loss. This approach greatly simplifies the automation of conventional workflows by replacing complicated set of centrifuge automation with a robotic pipette already present in a workstation.  The automated process significantly reduces manual intervention, decreasing variability, and enhancing consistency across experiments. Furthermore, the gentle handling is critical for maintaining the physiological state of cells, which is vital for the accuracy and reliability of sensitive assays across various applications.

Key Benefits
Pluto System

  • Simple and easy automation
  • Automation ready
  • Enhanced data integrity and reproducibility
  • Regulatory compliance

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Why Change?

The limitations of traditional cell processing methods like centrifugation are becoming increasingly apparent. Centrifugation induces significant mechanical stress and cell loss—averaging about 10% particle loss during each centrifugation and aspiration step (Jin et al., 2021). It also poses challenges for automation due to high costs and the expertise required, keeping workflows manual and dependent on operator skill. These drawbacks compromise the integrity and viability of cells, critical factors for successful assays. Continuing to rely on outdated techniques not only risks the accuracy of your results but also hinders productivity, reproducibility, and the potential for breakthrough discoveries. Embracing innovative methods is essential to overcome these challenges and stay at the forefront of scientific advancement. 

 

Why Now?

In today’s fast-paced research environment, the need for precision, reproducibility, and efficiency is greater than ever. As scientific inquiries become more complex, particularly in fields like immunology, cancer research, and pharmaceutical development, the pressure to deliver faster, more accurate results intensifies. Researchers can no longer afford the inconsistencies and manual errors associated with conventional methods. Now is the time to adopt innovative solutions that enhance standardization, reduce variability, and ensure that every experiment is executed with the highest level of precision.

 

The Pluto LT system can significantly streamline our sample preparation workflows. Its automation capabilities could not only improve the accuracy and reproducibility of our flow cytometry data, but also reduce human error during critical steps. As we continue to test across various immune assays, the Pluto system serves to be an essential tool for enhancing efficiency in immune monitoring studies.

Holden Maecker, PhD
Stanford University

Why the Pluto System

The Curiox C-FREE™ Pluto System’s technology (Pluto system) represents a leap forward in cell processing. By harnessing laminar flow to delicately wash cells, C-FREE technology preserves cell integrity and viability, eliminating the mechanical stress and cell loss commonly associated with centrifugal methods. This gentle approach is vital for maintaining the physiological states of cells, which is crucial for the accuracy and reliability of your most sensitive assays.

What sets the Pluto system apart is not just its advanced technology, but its commitment to personalized automation. This feature allows researchers to customize and standardize processes to meet specific experimental needs, dramatically reducing the potential for human error and ensuring consistent, reproducible results across all samples. The automation inherent in the Pluto system enhances error reduction and standardization, offering a level of precision that manual methods simply cannot match.

Moreover, the Pluto system is designed to scale with your needs, whether you’re in a research lab or a high-throughput clinical setting, without sacrificing sample quality. It meets stringent regulatory standards, including 21CFR Part 11* compliance, ensuring that your data is not only accurate but also secure and reliable.

By integrating the Pluto system’s technology into your workflow, you’re not just adopting a new tool—you’re embracing a future where higher cell viability, reduced preparation time, minimized technician hands-on time, and unparalleled reproducibility are the new standard. This is how you achieve deeper insights, faster advancements, and ultimately, how you lead the way in scientific innovation.

* Coming soon

Key Benefits of the C-FREE Pluto System

Simple and Easy Automation

Enable a robotic pipette to replace the centrifugation workflow and perform washing of suspension cells and beads, turning even basic pipetting robots into sophisticated sample preparation systems.

Automation
Ready

Integrates seamlessly with existing liquid handling workstations, turning even basic pipetting robots into sophisticated sample preparation systems.

Enhanced Data Integrity & Reproducibility

Provides consistent results by reducing variability and potential sample disturbance.

Regulatory
Compliance

C-FREE technology is built to meet stringent standards, including 21CFR Part 11*, making it suitable for use in regulated clinical environments and ensuring data integrity.

* Coming soon

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Data

Pluto LT system WB sample preparation for flow cytometry analysis. Representative dot plots of one donor WB (technical replicates n=4) processed with conventional centrifuge method or the Pluto LT system are shown. Lower non-CD45+ events in the Pluto LT system-washed samples indicates better wash efficiency compared to the conventional centrifuge method. Population resolution and frequencies are consistent between both methods. Samples were stained with basic immunophenotyping panel (Viability stain eF780, CD45 (HI30) eF506, CD3 (OKT3) SB600, CD4 (OKT4) PerCP-Cy5.5, CD8 (SK1) PE-Dazzle 594, CD19 (HIB19) FITC, CD16+CD56 (B73.1+HCD56) PE, CD11b (ICRF44) BV421, CD11c (Bu15) PE-Cy7) and acquired at a rate of 100 μL/min on an Invitrogen™ Attune™ NxT Flow Cytometer.

Applications

C-FREE technology research areas that are reliant on cellular analysis include:
  • Immunology
  • Cancer research
  • Pharmaceutical development
Benefits that support the needs researchers have for more accurate data, deeper insights and faster advancements are:
  • Ensuring higher cell viability
  • Reducing preparation time
  • Minimizing technician hands-on time
  • Increased reproducibility compared to manual methods

Preserve the quality of your samples with new standards in reproducibility, efficiency, and ease of use with C-FREE technology.

Related Products

  • Pluto System

  • Venus System

Key Resources

User Manual—Pluto LT System

The Pluto System: Automating Flow Cytometry Sample Preparation Without Breaking The Bank

Why The Pluto Workstation Is Not Just Another Liquid Handling Workstation

Flow Cytometry Issues and Solutions

Curiox Biosystems Opens Co-Working Lab at Kadans Science Partner’s London Innovation Centre

Simplify your path to new technology while experiencing customizable automation firsthand

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