iPSC Biology

Harness the potential of induced pluripotent stem cells

IPSCs are a powerful tool in the study of mechanisms underlying differentiation, development, and disease at an individual level, enabling patient-specific models of conditions like neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases.

While these cells show increasing translational relevance, there’s still a lot to learn about the processes governing pluripotency and differentiation and how to adequately characterize each unique cell line. Pixel™ drastically enhances the sensitivity and scale of iPSC studies, offering multiparametric insights into cell differentiation, host variability, and more.

Stem cell biology powered by microchips

Pixel’s unique semiconductor-to-live-cell-interface enables high-throughput, high-resolution characterization of hundreds of samples simultaneously. With thousands of electrodes at the base of each well in a standard 96- or 384-well Pixel plate, it captures over 20 morphological, behavioral, and functional parameters in real time at single-cell resolution.

“With the creation of robust, reproducible and functionally relevant model systems, we can explore complex disease etiologies in a meaningful way to create precise therapeutic strategies in the coming era of precision medicine.”

Liu et al., Development (2018)

Illuminate and improve complex disease models

Monitor pluripotency and identify heterogeneity during cellular differentation

As iPSCs differentiate, they undergo structural, functional, and behavioral changes that can vary between cell lines. Pixel allows you to monitor real-time changes in pluripotency and differentiation in iPSC cultures and distinguish between cells at various stages of differentiation in the same culture.

In this experiment, iPSCs were grown in mTeSR+ to maintain pluripotency. After cell attachment, media was either kept as mTeSR+, changed to E6 (differentiation-primed media), or changed to DMEM/FBS (differentiation induction media). Electrical imaging on Pixel was performed every 15 minutes to monitor changes in phenotype.

Track time and feature dependence of morphological changes

High-dimensional Pixel impedance data allows visualization of phenotypic changes during cell differentiation and enables robust quantification of these changes. In this experiment, analysis of Pixel data reveals distinct clustering of morphological features based on cell differentiation state. Clustered phenotypes can be characterized by both the feature and time-point of the change, enabling in-depth mechanistic analysis.

High-dimensional phenotype features distinguish pluripotent iPSCs from differentiation-primed and differentiated cells.

Investigate distinct cell populations in co-cultured disease models

Human-derived iPSC disease models are complex and consist of multiple cell types to reproduce the composition of normal cell tissue. Pixel captures high-dimensional morphological and behavioral data that enable identification of distinct cell types within these co-cultures. This experiment shows how analysis of Pixel data distinguishes populations of cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts within a co-cultured model of cardiac tissue.

Pixel’s electrical imaging monitors structural features of multiple cell types, enabling distinction between cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts in co-cultures.