Nanovial Technology at a Glance

Massively Parallel

Analyze 100K - 1M cells at 100X lower costs

Sensitive Functional Assays

Capture and measure secreted molecules from individual cells

No New Equipment

Analyze and sort in high throughput using flow cytometers

Non-Destructive

Cells maintain high viability enabling further downstream applications

Nanovial Technology Explained

Why look at secretions at the single cell level?
What are Nanovials?
A typical Nanovial workflow
Real-world applications

There are >3200 proteins secreted by cells (15% of the human genome). Most of these are understudied.

Learn about the secretome
Five of the top ten grossing pharmaceuticals in 2023 were monoclonal antibodies. Identify better antibodies using an affinity based approach.

Look At The List
There are over 1,500 ongoing clinical trials for cell therapies in the US. Predict potency with paired secretion and transcriptome data.

Clinical Trials

Nanovials are nanoliter-sized particles that act as millions of suspendable wells for individual cells

Easily modifiable, they offer improved sensitivity for the detection of secreted molecules

Step-by-Step Nanovial Workflow

Instrument Free Steps

Step 1 - Load Cells

Nanovials are modified with cell capture and secretion capture moeities (i.e. antibodies) . Cells and Nanovials are mixed in a standard sample tube and allowed to bind.

Step 2 - Incubate

Cell-loaded Nanovials are incubated and secreted proteins are captured using antibodies or other affinity agents modified on the Nanovial surface (Similar to a well plate or bead based ELISA).

Step 3 - Stain

Captured secretions are stained with fluorescent detection antibodies or other detection proteins. Other fluorophores or cell stains can also be added at this step. Importantly, Nanovials retain both the secreted protein information and the cells themselves enabling downstream analysis.

Readout Using Existing Instruments

Step 4 - Sort and Analyze

Nanovials are engineered to be compatible with common flow cytometers and fluorescently activated cell sorters, enabling sensitive multi-parameter analysis and sorting of secreted protein information along with cell surface markers. Cells not only remain alive throughout this process, but have improved viability due to the cavity acting as a shelter for the cells.

Step 5 - Downstream Assays

Sorted cells remain viable enabling further downstream assays including growth, productivity, and genetic analysis. Downstream assays can be performed directly on the nanovials or cells can be released from the Nanovials using trypsinization.