5-Laser Cell Sorter

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Fluorescence-based cell sorting is a powerful technique used to separate and isolate cells based on their physical and biochemical properties. The method combines principles of flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy to enable the sorting of a heterogeneous mixture of cells into distinct populations. The technique relies on the use of fluorescent probes to label cells and the use of a laser beam to excite the fluorescent molecules, allowing for the identification and separation of individual cells in a high-throughput manner. Due to its broad applicability, this proposal brings together five research groups whose interests range from biochemistry and genetics to biomechanics, biotechnology, and materials science. We plan to utilize the instrument to isolate large quantities of totipotent stem cells for regeneration research from a primary source. This will allow us to elucidate gene regulatory mechanisms that are essential for stem cell function. Concomitantly, the single-cell isolation capability of the instrument will spawn the analysis of cell-to-cell variation. In separate projects in human cells, we will utilize the instrument to select clones following lentiviral transduction experiments. This experimental capability is vital to advance our interests in the homeostasis of genetic information during cell division and eukaryotic transcription regulation. Furthermore, the instrument will allow for the introduction of fluorescently labelled molecules into target cells. These transduced cells are subsequently used to study the forces that regulate cell adhesion, migration and differentiation, and, on the other hand essential to combine engineering approaches with the nanofabrication of 3D-materials. In addition, the production and application of bioinspired materials requires the use of cell sorting. This is the case as primary cells need to be isolated prior to their usage in tissue engineering and regeneration. Moreover, we use cell sorting to engineer primary cells that are difficult to manipulate using classical methods. Last, we will utilize the instrument to study the interaction of polymers and other particles with cells. We do so to both decipher their interplay during organ printing and tissue engineering and to study their uptake into cells from the environment. Overall, the high-performance instrument applied for here will strengthen existing lines of research at the University of Bayreuth. Above all, however, it will enable us to open up entirely new fields of research that are currently inaccessible for lack of a comparable instrument.