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Beacon® Optofluidic Suite

The Beacon® Optofluidic Suite represents an absolute revolution in cell biology and biotherapeutic development. By synergistically integrating advanced microfluidics, precision optics, optoelectronics and artificial intelligence, this platform enables the isolation, culture, characterization and recovery of thousands of individual cells in a fully automated manner and in real time.

Unlike traditional static or destructive methodologies, Bruker’s optoelectronic force (OEP) technology manipulates cells extremely gently using light, enabling multiple functional and kinetic parameters to be assessed in living cells and, subsequently, the highest-value clones to be recovered for subsequent sequencing or clonal expansion.

Key features

Advanced optofluidic manipulation using OEP: Uses non-invasive structured light patterns to precisely move individual cells into nanoPen® microassay chambers.
Real-time multimodal monitoring: Automates the acquisition of brightfield and multichannel fluorescence images to monitor viability, proliferation, cell-cell interaction and molecular secretion over time.
nanoPen® microassay chambers: Patented microfluidic chips that confine cells in nanoliter volumes, enabling rapid enrichment of secreted signals and ultrasensitive phenotypic characterization.
Automated recovery of high-value cells: Selects and exports individual cells or specific clones detected in direct functional assays with 100% accuracy into PCR plates or culture wells, seamlessly linking the live functional phenotype with genomics and transcriptomics (TCR-seq, BCR-seq, mRNA-seq).
Highly accelerated workflows: Dramatically reduces traditional hybridoma screening or B-cell screening campaigns from months to just a few days, maximizing operational efficiency.

How does Beacon® work?

The Beacon® system redefines the study of cellular heterogeneity through a simplified, closed and automated workflow comprising four critical stages:

1

Cell loading and import

The cell suspension is automatically introduced into the main fluidic channels of the OptoSelect® chip. Using light directed by the optoelectronic system, thousands of individual cells are gently guided into the NanoPen® microchambers, where they remain physically isolated while maintaining constant diffusive exchange with the continuous perfusion medium.

2

On-chip culture and functional assays

Cells are incubated under controlled physiological conditions of temperature, gas and perfusion. The platform automatically performs multiple sequential dynamic assays on the same chip:

Protein or antibody secretion assays (detection of localized fluorescence within minutes). Real-time targeted cytotoxicity assays (co-culture of effector T cells or CAR-T cells with target cells). Evaluation of cell proliferation kinetics.
3

Automated data analysis with Cell Analysis Software (CAS)

The CAS (Cell Analysis Software) software suite processes and integrates optical and kinetic images in real time, generating multidimensional profiles that define the behavior of each individual cell. The system quantitatively associates complex phenotypes, cellular interactions and specific secretion indices.

4

Clonal selection and export

Based on the functional criteria defined by the researcher, the platform again uses optoelectronic force to export only the cells of interest—for example, high-affinity antibody-producing clones or highly cytotoxic active T cells—directly into standard molecular biology formats for subsequent molecular characterization or expansion.

Applications

Therapeutic antibody discovery

Therapeutic antibody discovery

Comprehensive screening and direct characterization of primary human or animal B cells (Memory B cells, Plasma cells) and hybridoma cell lines in less than one week. Direct on-chip functional characterization: binding affinity, antigen specificity, cross-reactivity and ligand blocking.
T-cell profiling and functionality

T-cell profiling and functionality

Evaluation of immunotherapies through the simultaneous analysis of targeted cytotoxicity, surface marker phenotyping and cytokine secretion rates in T-cell and CAR-T-cell populations. Direct linkage of the functional response with cell-by-cell T-cell receptor sequencing (TCR-seq).
Cell Line Development

Cell Line Development

Ensures documented monoclonality from day zero through continuous historical image tracking of each NanoPen® microchamber. Automated selection of the fastest-growing CHO clones with the highest therapeutic protein productivity, minimizing costly plate-passage stages.

Equipment specifications

To meet the needs of each laboratory, Bruker’s optofluidic suite is available in two highly scalable configurations:

Feature/configuration Beacon® Optofluidic System Beacon Discovery™
Primary focus Large-scale biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, CDMOs and high-throughput screening centers. Advanced translational research, immunology and academic antibody discovery.
Chip capacity Parallel processing of up to 4 chips per run. Optimized processing of 1 chip per run.
Cell capacity Up to 160,000 individual NanoPens analyzable per run. Up to 20,000 individual NanoPens analyzable per run.
Automation and workflow Maximum robotic capacity, optimal for continuous 24/7 processes. Compact, benchtop system designed for experimental flexibility.
Learn more

Area:

Omics, Single cell

Technology:

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