02 9541 3500Why Automated Cell Counting is Important for Modern Research
Quantifying the number and type of cells in a sample is a cornerstone of life sciences research, essential for ensuring reproducibility and accuracy across various disciplines, from fundamental biology to clinical diagnostics and bioproduction. Failing to count cells accurately or reliably distinguish between viable and non-viable cells can compromise research integrity, waste resources, and delay progress.
Traditionally, cell counting was performed manually, a process prone to human error, variability, and inefficiencies. However, with advancements in automated cell counting, researchers and industry professionals can now achieve greater precision, efficiency, and standardisation in their workflows.
Automated cell counting enables high-throughput analysis, reduces inter-operator variability, and provides critical data on cell concentration, viability, and morphology, optimising research outcomes and industrial applications. Whether working with mammalian cells, bacterial cultures, or plant protoplasts, adopting an automated approach ensures reliable, consistent results.
In this article, we explore the significance of automated cell counting, its advantages over traditional methods, and how innovations in fluorescence imaging and AI-powered analysis are shaping the future of cell research. You might even like to watch these webinars focused on cell counting and imaging.
The Challenges of Cell Counting
The process of cell counting starts with identifying the cells of interest, which can be quite diverse, ranging from cell lines to primary cells or even bacterial cells. If you are involved with fundamental research with cell lines or if you produce products in your facilities with cell lines, your needs will be different. Frequently, you can face the presence of debris, or contaminants, such as red blood cells if working with PBMCs or splenocytes for example.
Also in the same sample you can have cells with different sizes, as is the case with Mesenchymal stem cells, (MCS) or you can encounter clusters of cells with different shapes in the same sample.
You may be interested in counting other kinds of cells like pollen, protoplasts, sperm, spores, parasites etc.. When working with bacteria extra challenges will need to be addressed including genome size and Brownian movements.
How Automated Cell Counting Improves Research Outcomes
Counting cells is a common procedure in scientific experiments. Monitoring the health of your cells will check the proliferation rate, assess immobilisation, check the transfection rate or help you to seed cells for subsequent experiments especially cell-based assays. Therefore, it is critical to count cells using a reproducible approach especially if you wish to quantify measurements of cellular responses.
Accurate counting provides quantitative and qualitative information such as concentration, viability, cell size, clustering, etc. Accurate counting will enable decisions to be made from passage to cell therapy development.
In bioprocessing, where living cells are used to produce valuable products such as enzymes and monoclonal antibodies, process optimisation is critical. Accurate and consistent cell counting helps reduce inter-operator variability, a common challenge in research and production environments.
Many applications demand total variability below 15%, and in some cases, even below 10%. Each step in the workflow introduces potential variability, underscoring the need for standardised, high-accuracy counting methods to improve experimental outcomes and enhance process efficiency.
Choosing the Right Automated Cell Counter for Your Needs
Over the past six decades, cell counting methodologies have evolved from manual techniques, counting whole cells in 2D in a Petri dish, to sophisticated automated systems, significantly enhancing efficiency and precision.
In addition to automated cell counters, the combination with fluorescent dyes can offer further insights that streamline and enhance the accuracy of nuclei assessment procedures, for example, in single cell genomics research settings.
Fluorescent dyes used together with imaging tools such as automated cell counters, provide an effective method to evaluate nuclei quality and to quickly distinguish between living and dead cells.
Measuring Cell Viability Using Fluorescent Dyes
The Acridine Orange (AO) and Propidium Iodide (PI) staining method offers a simple yet sensitive way to distinguish between living and dead cells. AO is a small molecule that can penetrate cell membranes of both live and dead cells and binds to nucleic acids/DNA to emit a distinctive green fluorescence.
In contrast, PI cannot penetrate live cell membranes – only membranes of compromised cells such as dying or dead cells. When PI is bound to DNA, it has peak excitation emits a distinctive red fluorescence. Using an automated fluorescence cell counter, green fluorescence of AO is observed in living cells, while red fluorescence of PI is observed in dead cells. AO/PI staining is therefore a useful and rapid technique for assessing cell viability.
The LUNA-FX7™ is a Game Changer in Automated Cell Counting
LUNA FX7™ can not only save time but also enhance research integrity by reducing errors associated with manual counting. Whether you are a researcher, lab professional, or a student counting cells for single-cell sequencing or dosing determination for a cell therapy, choosing the right cell counting technology is critical to ensuring accuracy and reliability. If you’re unsure which technology to use, contact us for a free consultation and we’d be happy to help you.
Applications of Automated Cell Counting Across Research Fields
Human Cell Counting: Tackling Complexity with Precision
Whole blood is a notoriously challenging medium for traditional counting techniques aimed at enumerating a single component such as leukocytes. Platelets and mature red blood cells in particular complicate reliable counting.
Similarly, CAR-T cell therapies require a complex biomanufacturing process entailing strict adherence to regulatory and QA/QC guidelines. Cell health and viability must be evaluated and monitored throughout bioprocessing workflows to ensure the safety, quality, and efficacy of the final clinical product.
Key insights from recent case studies include:
- Leukocyte and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) Counting: The dual fluorescent LUNA-FX7™ effectively quantifies leukocytes in whole blood using high-throughput 2-channel and 8-channel slides for replicable analyses.
- CAR-T Cell Viability Monitoring: By employing nucleic acid stains such as Acridine Orange and Propidium Iodide (AO/PI), researchers can monitor CAR-T cell health during biomanufacturing. The LUNA-FX7™ meets rigorous QA/QC guidelines through the use of pre-set validation slides, internal QC software, and optional 21 CFR Part 11-compliant software.
- Automated QC of Isolated Nuclei: accurate evaluation of nuclei quality is pivotal for single cell genomics research. Combining fluorescent dyes (AO/PI) with imaging tools such as automated cell counters like the LUNA-FX7™ and LUNA-FL™, provides an effective method to evaluate nuclei quality.
Animal Cell Counting: Supporting Biotechnology and Veterinary Research
Monitoring the concentration and viability of animal cells is integral to a whole hostof workflows covering areas such as livestock health, fertility assessment and cell biotechnology for protein production.
Traditional flow cytometry-based methods can be costly and require large sample volumes, whereas the LUNA-FX7™ offers a more accessible and cost-efficient alternative.
Highlighted applications include:
- Somatic Cell Counting in Milk: Fat and protein debris complicate somatic cell count (SCC) determination, but using the LUNA-FX7™ with Somatic Cell Staining Solution enables accurate cell counting.
- SF9 Insect Cell Viability: In protein production workflows, selecting appropriate dyes and exposure settings ensures optimal SF9 cell quality assessment.
- Cattle Sperm Cell Analysis: A comparative analysis of fluorescent dyes allowed for optimised sample dilution and imaging conditions, ensuring precise fertility evaluations.
Plant Cell Counting: Immediate Viability Assessment for Protoplasts
Traditional methods for assessing the viability of plant protoplasts – plant cells with removed cell walls – require culturing until the protoplasts have developed into complete plants, making viability determination time-consuming.
The LUNA-FX7™ overcomes this challenge by enabling immediate assessment using double-staining with distinct-coloured fluorescent dyes. Researchers have successfully identified optimal dye combinations and parameters, allowing for reliable and rapid viability assessment, streamlining workflows in plant biotechnology and genetic engineering.
Innovations in Automated Cell Counting: Embracing AI and Machine Learning
Cell counting remains an essential process across fundamental research, clinical applications and bioproduction. As science continues to advance, there is a growing demand for faster, higher-throughput, and more tailored cell counting solutions. While automated techniques address many of these demands, challenges including sample prep, technology compatibility, cost efficiency, and compliance remain.
Recent innovations in software and hardware, including the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning, focus on enhancing accuracy and efficiency in cell counting. For instance, the new LUNA-III™ cell counter utilises machine learning algorithms to ensure high-quality and reliable results, addressing current cell counting challenges and providing practical solutions for applications such as CAR-T cell therapy production and single-cell sequencing.
Selecting the appropriate cell counting technology is crucial for research success. Factors to consider include sample preparation requirements, technology compatibility, cost efficiency, and compliance with regulatory standards.
Automated systems like the LUNA-FX7™ and LUNA-III™ offer advanced features that cater to these considerations, providing researchers with tools to enhance accuracy, efficiency, and reproducibility in their workflows.
Are you ready to upgrade your lab’s cell counting capabilities? Explore how the LUNA-FX7™ and LUNA-III™ can transform your workflows and enhance research outcomes today!
Contact us for a demo!