FLEXcyte 96 by Nanion Technologies GmbH

The FLEXcyte 96 brings in vitro contraction force measurements of cardiac cells to a new dimension. By using a well-defined, flexible substrate for cardiac cells, the system leverages maturity and mature responses of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to pharmacological compounds in a higher throughput format. In the 96-well plate, the cells adhere as monolayers on the flexible substrates and the contractility of the synchronized cell layers are recorded. This unique technology allows for recordings in a native-like environment close to mechanical conditions of the heart.

The FLEXcyte 96 is a turn-key system for structural and functional contraction force recordings in cardiotoxicity, safety and efficacy screening and basic research. The FLEXcyte 96 comes as an add-on for the CardioExcyte 96. With less than 10 μm in thickness and sophisticated surface modification, the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes of the FLEXcyte 96 disposable plates offer physiological elasticity of native human heart tissue and strong mechanical support. While being deflected by the weight of the culture medium, rhythmic contraction of the cardiomyocytes lift the membranes in the 96-well upwards. By measuring the changes in deflection, the mechanical stress can be calculated.

The system has been validated with stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes from several providers (Ncardia, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, Inc. (FCDI), Axol and NEXEL). Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC- CMs) display positive inotropic responses, no additional stimulation of “cell maturation” is necessary. Cardiac contraction force can also be measured on patient-derived cells. No subtleties of cytotoxic responses are missed, measuring contractile forces on heart muscle cells for safety, efficacy and toxicity investigations in both chronic and acute time frames are performed reliably. The FLEXcyte 96 is a fully automated device, recording from 96 wells in parallel.

The benefits the FLEXcyte 96 offers include:

• True contractility
• Supports mature cell behavior
• Physiological mechanical conditions
• Higher throughput, 96-wells in parallel
• Acute and chronic assessment of cell activity and toxicity
• Optical pacing options

The CardioExcyte 96/ FLEXcyte 96 package includes an Incubation System which makes the system independent of an incubator. The system is placed on the bench top with maintained control over temperature, gas mix and humidity. Efficiency and ease-of-use are facilitated by an outstanding software package for data handling and export - an essential part of the CardioExcyte 96/ FLEXcyte 96 system.