From Your Peers with Dr. Lina Chakrabarti

Dr. Lina Chakrabarti from AstraZeneca highlights the benefits of using Namocell single cell dispensers in cell line development. The instruments enhanced efficiency, predictability, and robustness of workflows, aiding safe and cost-effective biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The article details how Namocell instruments contributed to these improvements in cell line development.

Dr. Lina Chakrabarti of AstraZeneca highlights the benefits of Namocell single cell dispensers in CHO cell line development

Traditional Single Cell Isolation Methods for CHO Cell Line Development

The Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line is widely used for the production of therapeutic antibodies. In a typical cell line development workflow, CHO cells are transfected with an immunoglobulin (IgG) expressing vector. After transfection, single, viable CHO cells are isolated for clonal expansion while high titer clones are screened for stability and productivity. These high producing CHO cell lines are then expanded for large scale antibody production.

Generating cell lines for therapeutic antibodies requires clonal cell populations. A critical first step involves isolating single, viable cells. Single cell isolation for cell line development has traditionally been done with either Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorters (FACS)  or limiting dilutions, each of which have inherent cost and efficiency drawbacks.

FACS instruments sort cells at high pressure (up to 70 psi), which is harsh on the cells and results in reduced cell viability. This manual screening method is also difficult to use and prone to cross-contamination and clogging.

Limiting dilution, while gentler than FACS, is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and offers poor single cell isolation efficiency. This has led to increased demand for automated, high-throughput solutions.

Single Cell Isolation Made Fast and Easy With Namocell Cell Sorters

In CHO cell lines, CHO cells are transfected with a plasmid, encoding the desired protein for mass production. Following selection, transfected cells in suspension are loaded into one of Namocell’s proprietary microfluidic cell cartridges and dispensed with the Pala Single and Bulk Cell Sorter into 96- or 384-well plates for clonal outgrowth. These benchtop instruments offer quick, gentle cell isolation, helping to preserve cell viability and integrity. Following clonal expansion, colonies are analyzed via ELISA to determine antibody titers. 

Namocell Pala Single Cell Sorter for CHO Cell Line Development
Namocell Single cell dispensing in CHO cell line development workflow

CHO Cell Line Development with Namocell Single Cell Sorting Technology Yields Higher Cloning Efficiency and Better Scalability

Single cell dispensing efficiency of mammalian cells in cell line development

Fast Single Cell Isolation and Single Cell Dispensing

Empower your cell line development workflow with the fastest and simplest way to identify and isolate single cells, all achieved seamlessly in one single step.

Single cell cloning efficiency in CHO cell line development

Efficient Single Cell Sorting Performance

Proprietary benchtop sorting technology is affordable, user-friendly, and requires zero special training. Fully automated with a low cost of operation.

Namocell cell sorters gently dispense transfected CHO cells into well plates for cell line development.

Gentle Single Cell Sorting and Dispensing

Low-pressure sorting capabilities are gentle on your precious cells, helping to preserve viability and integrity throughout the cell line development workflow.

Embrace the Future of CHO Cell Line Development

Single Cell Dispensing Efficiency

A comparative study was performed to serve as a reference for expected deposition efficiency. The results found that Namocell instruments are highly efficient and consistent at dispensing single cells (80-90% with mammalian cells) compared to manual pipetting (~30%).


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Namocell is able to effectively sort CHO cells.

Single Cell Cloning Efficiency

Namocell’s Single Cell Dispenser was used to sort CHO cells for clonal outgrowth alongside both limiting dilution (LDC) and a FACS. Cells sorted with Namocell showed higher cloning efficiencies than LDC and FACS.


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Namocell achieves higher cloning efficiency when compared to traditional cell sorting methods.
Dr. Oscar Perez-Leal discusses how the Namocell Single Cell Dispenser has streamlined single cell cloning for cell line development
“Utilizing this machine (the Namocell Single Cell Dispenser) has proven instrumental in streamlining the development process of single-cell clones for the cell lines I am working on. It has greatly facilitated the generation of valuable research tools, contributing to the overall progress and efficiency of my work.”

Dr. Oscar Perez-Leal, M.D, Assistant Professor, Temple University, School of Pharmacy

“The introduction of Namocell Single Cell Dispenser has brought significant reduction in sorting time and cost of goods. The device is small, quick to set up and easy-to-use with high probability of monoclonality and clonal outgrowth.” 

Dr. Lina Chakrabarti, Associate Director R&D, AstraZeneca

Dr. Lina Chakrabarti of AstraZeneca highlights the benefits of Namocell single cell dispensers in cho cell line development

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Single Cell Isolation using Cold Capture and Namocell single cell dispensers

Cold-Capture Single Cell Isolation for CHO Cell Line Development

Results from Namocell single cell dispensers showed a 3x increase in IgG production from cold-captured cells compared to non-captured cells.

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Dr. Oscar Perez-Leal discusses how the Namocell Single Cell Dispenser has streamlined single cell cloning for cell line development

CHO Cell Line Development Workflow Improvements

Learn how the team at AstraZeneca improved the efficiency, predictability, and robustness of cell line development workflows for safe and cost-efficient biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

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Learn how Namocell single cell sorting technology empowers CHO cell line development

Empowering CHO Cell Line Development

Learn how innovative Namocell technology can help simplify and empower a number of single cell applications. Watch the webinar for practical tips to optimize results.

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