Nexcelom's leading automated cell counting and image cytometry solutions are now part of Revvity's portfolio. Learn more at revvity.com

Cellaca MX High-throughput Automated Cell Counter

Count 24 Samples in Less than 3 Minutes

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The High-throughput Automated Cell Counter that Changes Everything

Your workflow will be streamlined and more efficient when you integrate the Cellaca MX with these capabilities:

  • Batch samples – run up to 24 samples at a time
  • Small sample volume – only 25 µl of cell sample required
  • Autofocus – fast autofocus prior to analysis
  • Cell based assays – data output at a single cell level enables you to do cell-based assays such as apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential, protein expression (including GFP and RFP), and reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  • Time course reporting – effortlessly create growth curves with multiple samples at several time points using the customization tools
  • Automatic calculation – calculate various data points such as doubling time for individually labeled samples with an easy-to-use interface
  • Multiple configurations – choose to add up to five fluorescent filters
  • Automation ready – robotic integration ability with optional API
  • Customizable reports – add graphs, images, charts, and tables
  • Multi-language support – over 7,000 languages available
  • 21 CFR Part 11 ready – optional add-on that includes audit trail, user access control, and digital signature

“Thank you Nexcelom for your excellent customer service and technical support! The Cellaca reduces time spent on cell counts fivefold for large scale experiments.”

Emmett E. Hedblom, Ph.D, TScan Therapeutics

You Don’t have to Limit Your Experimental Design

Run 24 samples in less than 3 minutes! No more reloading of individual slides or waiting for small batch counters to finish counting. With the Cellaca MX High-throughput Automated Cell Counter your experiments are no longer limited by the number of samples you can quickly and accurately count.

Multiple fluorescent filter options enable you to perform additional cell-based assays in minutes. With the Cell Fitness Panel you can get a quick check of the following cell health parameters:

  • Viability
  • Vitality
  • Apoptosis
  • Reactive oxygen species (ROS)

“The ease of use and fast, high-throughput capabilities definitely make the Cellaca MX the best cell counter on the market, even over the Beckman Vi-Cell which I’ve used for the past decade.”

Jasmine Ta, Eli Lilly
Cellaca MX 2.0 Software

Assay Settings and Cell Type Parameters Ready to Use

Cellaca MX cell types

With the Cellaca MX you can build your own assays or choose from the many assays already included in the software. In addition, there are over 200 cell types preloaded with optimized settings. Simply find your assay and cell type in the menu and you are ready to count.

“The Cellaca is a very useful instrument in our lab. It is very easy to use and we are able to count our samples quickly and accurately so that we can move onto our next steps. This saves on time and labor and gives us more confidence in our data.”

Katherine Henderson, Allen Institute for Immunology

Save Time with Simultaneous Imaging and Analysis

As soon as the first well has been acquired you can begin reviewing the images and data. No need to wait until the entire batch has been analyzed before starting to assess the results. Answers are available in seconds, not minutes.

The ability to add additional automation with robotic integration can further increase productivity.

screenshot simultaneous imaging and analysis

Figure 1. Wells in blue have been captured and analyzed. The green well is in progress of being analyzed. The orange well is next to be analyzed. Well A1 is selected and the AOPI image is displayed on screen (AO is green, PI is red). The report shows the number of live, dead and total cells counted for well A1.

High Accuracy at Fast Speeds

Number of Samples Amount of Time
Cellaca MX 24
480
48 seconds
30 minutes
Cell Counter V 12
480
36 minutes
24 hours

Table 1. Amount of time it takes to count cells with Trypan Blue on the Cellaca MX when compared to another cell counter.

“Fast and easy counting. It takes about only 5 min to count the 24 cells with its viability results and it has been super effective.”

Dasom Kim, MSKCC

The Cellaca MX offers significant time savings compared to manual counting and to other automated cell counters on the market. When performing a bright field cell count with trypan blue, 24 samples are counted in 48 seconds (Table 1).

Accurate Results You Can Trust

The Cellaca MX has undergone rigorous testing and validation to ensure highly accurate results. In comparisons to manual counting with a hemocytometer, and Cellometer automated counters the Cellaca MX proves to be a highly accurate instrument. In addition, the Cellaca MX can warn the operator when the cell count is out of range (too few or too many cells in the sample) and will suggest a corrective course of action (concentrating or diluting the cell sample and by how much).

Close correlation to hemocytometer

In this study, three tubes of 5-micron polystyrene beads were diluted to a concentration of ~2×106 beads/mL. To determine the concentration within each tube, 40 individual hemocytometer counts were performed for each tube. The Cellaca MX was then used to measure the concentration on the same set of tubes. The results show a very close correlation between the hemocytometer counted beads and the Cellaca MX counts.

Cellaca MX vs hemocytometry

Figure 2. A total of 18 Nexcelom Counting Plate (432 wells) were used over the 3 tubes of beads and had average CV values of < 4%.

Hemo CV Cellaca CV Hemo Aveg Cellaca Aveg % Diff
Tube 1 4.46% 3.69% 2.03E+06 2.00E+06 1.20%
Tube 2 4.33% 3.64% 2.21E+06 2.16E+06 2.35%
Tube 3 4.28% 3.94% 2.10E+06 2.11E+06 0.71%

Table 2. The measured concentration difference between the Cellaca MX and the hemocytometer bead counts were between 0.7 – 2.3%.

Low plate-to-plate variability

Nexcelom Counting Plates are made in the USA to exacting standards. This ensures accurate cell counts you can trust across manufacturing lots of Nexcelom Counting Plates.

In a study of 1,992 individually loaded samples (83 plates) by multiple users over multiple weeks a count of ~ 2×106 cells/mL CHO-s cells with trypan blue yielded a CV less than 6% (figure 3). The cumulative counting time for all 83 plates was 70 minutes.

Low plate-to-plate variability

Figure 3. CHO cells stained with trypan blue were shown to have a CV of 6% or less over 4 independent experiments totaling 83, 24-well plates (1,992 samples).

“After testing this cell counter and comparing it to other counting methods, we have seen that the Cellaca MX produces tighter/accurate counts and saves us time.”

Kimberly Sandy, Pfizer

Consistent Viability Measurement using Fluorescence

Count messy samples more accurately with fluorescence! With the Cellaca MX 2FL and 5FL models, you can eliminate red blood cells, platelets and debris from your counts using fluorescent nuclear stains. Acridine orange and propidium iodide are perfect for counting the nucleated cells in samples like PBMCs, patent samples, tumor digests and samples with lots of debris.

The advantage of fluorescent counting for primary cells

The images (Figure 4) demonstrate the advantage of fluorescent counting for primary cells. The bright field image shows the combination of nucleated cells, red blood cells and platelets present in the sample. Only the live and dead nucleated cells are visualized and counted in the green and red fluorescent channels.

“The Cellaca MX high-throughput cell counter has streamlined the development efforts of our cell therapy product. The instrument combines the accuracy we require for cell viability measurements using the dual live/dead fluorescent dyes with the automation needed for intensive characterization studies. The time savings for our team with the increased speed and automation will easily justify the cost of the instrument.”

Will Heaton, DiscGenics
fluorescent counting for primary cells

Figure 4. Several red blood cells are indicated in the bright field image (above, left). The red blood cells are not visible in the fluorescent image (above, right) detecting cells stained with nuclear staining dye.

Count Clumpy Cells using Declustering Algorithm

Count clumpy cells

Figure 5. The above image shows cells counted with trypan blue on the Cellaca MX. The software automatically declusters and counts individual live cells (in green outlines) and trypan blue positive dead cells (in red).

When working with clumpy cells you can apply declustering settings to identify and individually count each cell in your sample to get highly accurate counts.

“Incredibly fast, and saves time and effort. So amazing! No instrument fluidics to be maintained, it analyzes cell lines or primary cells like T cells, PBMCs and tumor digest, incorporate robotics with an API compatible instrument. It is fast enough to count 24 samples in less than 2.5 minutes. Good value for money in general!”

Isabella Akwi, Ernest Cook Mengo

Customizable Reports

Export reports as CSV, Excel, Word, or PDF files. Use default reports or customize based on the data and images you want included for the assay that was run. Statistical analysis can be included for various parameters. Different languages are available for reporting.

Customizable reports

Mix the Sample within the Plate

Nexcelom’s unique proprietary patented technology allows the user to mix the cell sample and the viability dye or staining reagent in a single well within the plate. The built-in capillary mechanism ensures even distribution across the wells. Therefore, providing a completely processed sample set for imaging, accurate counting, and analysis. There is no longer the need to perform these steps in a separate tube.

Learn more about the Nexcelom high-throughput counting plates

The Nexcelom Counting Plate for Cellaca has 24 chambers for cell samples

Facilitates 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance

21 CFR Part 11

Figure 6. Different user roles can be assigned in 21 CFR Part 11 module. An electronic signature can be applied to the results.

An optional module can be purchased to meet the FDA requirements for 21 CFR Part 11. The additional module comes with the following features:

  • User login with passwords
  • User assigned permissions
  • Audit trail
  • Error log files
  • Electronic signatures

Cell Fitness Panel on the Cellaca MX

There are many parameters that can indicate the fitness of your samples but this is the first time that these parameters have been combined into a single kit to allow you to better examine samples of interest. These individual tests provide potential insight into sample quality. These tests can be run on the Cellaca MX FL2 or FL5. The Cell Fitness Panel includes the following tests:

Cell Fitness Panel Viability

Viability – AO/PI (Acridine Orange and Propidium Iodide) – Using AO/PI allows for the identification, enumeration of mononuclear cells, and provides cell viability in the counted sample without a RBC lysing step.

Cell Fitness Panel Vitality/Enzymatic Activity

Vitality/Enzymatic Activity – Calcein AM/PI – By looking at the conversion of non-fluorescent calcein AM to green fluorescent calcein we can measure the number and concentration of both metabolically active live cells as well as non-viable cells in a given population.

Cell Fitness Panel ROS

Reactive Oxygen Species – Total ROS – While reactive oxygen species (ROS) are natural by-products of normal metabolism, during oxidative stress-related events, the accumulation of ROS can result in significant damage to cell structures. Cultures that are positive for ROS may signal unhealthy culture conditions that can lead to apoptosis and cell death.

Cell Fitness Panel Mid-Stage Apoptosis

Mid-Stage Apoptosis – Annexin V/PI – An assay commonly carried out by researchers interested in performing functional assays to measure the percent of live, apoptotic, and necrotic cells in a sample. May serve as an early indicator of an unhealthy cell population.

Cell Fitness Panel Late-Stage Apoptosis

Late-Stage Apoptosis – Caspase 3/7 – Early or mid-stage apoptotic cells may recover or may progress to late stage apoptosis. A cell culture with a high number of caspase 3/7 positive cells may be in trouble. In this assay the executioner caspase is detected as a bright nuclear signal.

Cellaca MX Specifications

The Cellaca MX is available in different configurations. Each is field upgradeable to allow your instrument to configure to your experimental needs and quickly drive to deeper cellular insights.

Cellaca MX BF Cellaca MX FL2 Cellaca MX FL5
Channels Brightfield Brightfield, Green, Red Brightfield, Blue, Green, Red, Far Red
Number of Channels 1 4 14
Excitation LED N/A 470, 527 365, 470, 527 and 620 nm
Emissions Filters N/A 534, 655 452, 534, 605, 655 and 692 nm
Commonly Used Compatible Dyes Trypan Blue Trypan Blue, AO/PI, GFP Trypan Blue, AO/PI, Hoechst, DAPI, GFP, RFP, CMFDA, Calcein AM, 7AAD, Annexin V
Counting Speed Per 24 Samples 48 seconds Trypan Blue – 48 seconds
Fluorescence – Less than 3 minutes
Trypan Blue – 48 seconds
Fluorescence – Less than 3 minutes
Volume (per well) 25 µL – 100 µL sample volume
50 µL – 200 µL total well volume
25 µL – 100 µL sample volume
50 µL – 200 µL total well volume
25 µL – 100 µL sample volume
50 µL – 200 µL total well volume
Size/Diameter Range 5 – 80 µm 5 – 80 µm 5 – 80 µm
Concentration Range 1×105 – 1×107 1×105 – 1×107 1×105 – 1×107
Fluorescence Upgradeable Yes Yes (add additional colors) N/A
IQ/OQ Option Yes Yes Yes
21 CFR Part 11 Ready Option Yes Yes Yes
Automation Compatible Yes Yes Yes
Operating System Windows 10 Windows 10 Windows 10
Dimensions 13 in x 13 in x 16 in
(33 cm x 33 cm x 41 cm)
13 in x 13 in x 16 in
(33 cm x 33 cm x 41 cm)
13 in x 13 in x 16 in
(33 cm x 33 cm x 41 cm)
Weight 40 lbs (18 kg) 42 lbs (19 kg) 42 lbs (19 kg)

Customer Testimonials

Associate Director of the Flow Cytometry facility at The Broad Institute, Patricia Rogers, has worked with a wide range of instrumentation and vendors in her fifteen plus years in Flow Cytometry. Patricia knows the value of great customer service and support and she believes that great instrumentation must go hand-in-hand with rapid reacting customer service to truly be exceptional. Luckily, we here at Nexcelom value the same principles and we are proud to offer excellent customer service and support to all our customers.

Watch the video to see what she says about the Cellaca MX Cell Counter.

“Anytime I have a problem you guys are always there to help me figure out a solution so you know, the service has really been more like a partnership and I’m really happy with it.”

Patricia Rogers, Associate Director of the Flow Cytometry facility, The Broad Institute

Huge time savings

Huge time savings when counting large numbers of samples, very easy to use.

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Jonathan Portman

Affinivax, Inc.

Huge time savings

Huge time savings when counting large numbers of samples, very easy to use.

Jonathan Portman

Affinivax, Inc.

The Cellaca is great!

The Cellaca is great! We have the 5 color one and use it with the standard assays (mainly AO/PI), along with creating some of our own for specialized needs. We run so many samples each day/week and it’s a total time saver. I will never go back to counting individual samples with trypan blue again.

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Alaina Puleo

10X Genomics

The Cellaca is great!

The Cellaca is great! We have the 5 color one and use it with the standard assays (mainly AO/PI), along with creating some of our own for specialized needs. We run so many samples each day/week and it’s a total time saver. I will never go back to counting individual samples with trypan blue again.

Alaina Puleo

10X Genomics

Makes cell counting easy!

The Cellaca makes cell counting easy!

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Evgeny Kiner

Immunai Inc.

Makes cell counting easy!

The Cellaca makes cell counting easy!

Evgeny Kiner

Immunai Inc.

10x Faster than Manual Counting

Easy to use, the effectiveness is high enough. Results are reproducible that is important for experiments. This instrument [Cellaca MX] greatly increases the consistency of our experiments. And 10x faster than manual counting, no need for washing or contamination, so it will be excellent for decreasing of time-consuming and increasing the accuracy.

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Ayman Al-Labban

Qualipharm

10x Faster than Manual Counting

Easy to use, the effectiveness is high enough. Results are reproducible that is important for experiments. This instrument [Cellaca MX] greatly increases the consistency of our experiments. And 10x faster than manual counting, no need for washing or contamination, so it will be excellent for decreasing of time-consuming and increasing the accuracy.

Ayman Al-Labban

Qualipharm

Accurate

[Cellaca MX] Super easy to use and fairly high throughput. Great value and accurate cell counts!!!

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Tanja Smith

Laboratory Manager

Accurate

[Cellaca MX] Super easy to use and fairly high throughput. Great value and accurate cell counts!!!

Tanja Smith

Laboratory Manager

So amazing!

So amazing! No instrument fluidics are to be maintained, it analyses cell lines or primary cells like T cells, PBMCs, and tumor digest, incorporate robotic with API compatible instrument. It [Cellaca MX] is fast enough to count 24 samples in less than 2.5 minutes. There is value for money in general!

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Isabella Akwi

Ernest Cook Mengo

So amazing!

So amazing! No instrument fluidics are to be maintained, it analyses cell lines or primary cells like T cells, PBMCs, and tumor digest, incorporate robotic with API compatible instrument. It [Cellaca MX] is fast enough to count 24 samples in less than 2.5 minutes. There is value for money in general!

Isabella Akwi

Ernest Cook Mengo

Superfast

Superfast counting, easy to handle, accurate results [with Cellaca MX].

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Edward Yeh

Level Biotech

Superfast

Superfast counting, easy to handle, accurate results [with Cellaca MX].

Edward Yeh

Level Biotech

Amazing

Amazing cell counting in a few minutes, many samples collected at the same time [using Cellaca MX].

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Dipica Haribhai

AbbVie

Amazing

Amazing cell counting in a few minutes, many samples collected at the same time [using Cellaca MX].

Dipica Haribhai

AbbVie

Solid, reliable

We were rapidly able to use the Cellaca MX for pipeline PBMC immunology assays integrating both flow cytometry and single-cell genomics platforms. The nuclear staining was useful to exclude RBCs from the cell count. The ability to run a batch of 24 samples in a single plate has been integrated into our data analysis streams. Applications scientists from Nexcelom have been extremely helpful in customizing instrument settings for our specific needs. Solid, reliable cell counter with excellent support from the manufacturer.

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Julian Reading

Allen Institute for Immunology

Solid, reliable

We were rapidly able to use the Cellaca MX for pipeline PBMC immunology assays integrating both flow cytometry and single-cell genomics platforms. The nuclear staining was useful to exclude RBCs from the cell count. The ability to run a batch of 24 samples in a single plate has been integrated into our data analysis streams. Applications scientists from Nexcelom have been extremely helpful in customizing instrument settings for our specific needs. Solid, reliable cell counter with excellent support from the manufacturer.

Julian Reading

Allen Institute for Immunology

Confidence in our data

The Cellaca is a very useful instrument in our lab. It is very easy to use and we are able to count our samples quickly and accurately so that we can move onto our next steps. This saves on time and labor and gives us more confidence in our data. When we have issues arise, the technical help we have received has also been very helpful. This is a very useful instrument for any lab doing a lot of cell counting.

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Katherine Henderson

Allen Institute for Immunology

Confidence in our data

The Cellaca is a very useful instrument in our lab. It is very easy to use and we are able to count our samples quickly and accurately so that we can move onto our next steps. This saves on time and labor and gives us more confidence in our data. When we have issues arise, the technical help we have received has also been very helpful. This is a very useful instrument for any lab doing a lot of cell counting.

Katherine Henderson

Allen Institute for Immunology

Accuracy we require

The Cellaca MX high-throughput cell counter has streamlined the development efforts of our cell therapy product. The instrument combines the accuracy we require for cell viability measurements using the dual live/dead fluorescent dyes with the automation needed for intensive characterization studies. The support team at Nexcelom has been very supportive in getting our instrument up and running, with our product-specific requirements. The time savings for our team with the increased speed and automation will easily justify the cost of the instrument.

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Will Heaton

DiscGenics

Accuracy we require

The Cellaca MX high-throughput cell counter has streamlined the development efforts of our cell therapy product. The instrument combines the accuracy we require for cell viability measurements using the dual live/dead fluorescent dyes with the automation needed for intensive characterization studies. The support team at Nexcelom has been very supportive in getting our instrument up and running, with our product-specific requirements. The time savings for our team with the increased speed and automation will easily justify the cost of the instrument.

Will Heaton

DiscGenics

Very impressed

After testing this cell counter and comparing it to other counting methods, we have seen that the Cellaca MX produces tighter/accurate counts and saves us time. I was very impressed with the Field Service Representatives from Nexcelom for their willingness to come out to teach and troubleshoot any issues we were having. Big shoutout to Andrea Love and Charles Hernandez.

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Kimberly Sandy

Pfizer

Very impressed

After testing this cell counter and comparing it to other counting methods, we have seen that the Cellaca MX produces tighter/accurate counts and saves us time. I was very impressed with the Field Service Representatives from Nexcelom for their willingness to come out to teach and troubleshoot any issues we were having. Big shoutout to Andrea Love and Charles Hernandez.

Kimberly Sandy

Pfizer

Best cell counter on the market

The ease of use and fast, high-throughput capabilities definitely make the Cellaca MX the best cell counter on the market, even over the Beckman Vi-Cell which I’ve used for the past decade. Also, the follow-up with their FAS has been great, making sure that the product still works well with our varying applications.

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Jasmine Ta

Eli Lilly

Best cell counter on the market

The ease of use and fast, high-throughput capabilities definitely make the Cellaca MX the best cell counter on the market, even over the Beckman Vi-Cell which I’ve used for the past decade. Also, the follow-up with their FAS has been great, making sure that the product still works well with our varying applications.

Jasmine Ta

Eli Lilly