Featuring up to five lasers and 78 detectors, the instrument enables analysis of more than 50 single-cell characteristics with under 10% variation.
Waters Corp has announced the commercial launch of the BD FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer, expanding its spectral flow cytometry portfolio to academic, pharmaceutical, and contract research organization laboratories.
The system incorporates BD SpectralFX Technology, which is also utilized in the BD FACSDiscover A8 Cell Analyzer. The instrument supports up to five lasers and 78 fluorescence detectors, enabling laboratory researchers to measure more than 50 characteristics on a single cell.
The analyzer also includes FACSTruQ Technology, which provides automated setup, calibration, and quality control. Internal company data indicate that this system achieves reproducible results with a coefficient of variation below 10% across more than 50 dyes, supporting data consistency across different users, instruments, and laboratory sites. The instrument is paired with an integrated autoloader and BD FACSChorus Software, which provides guided workflows to support experimental standardization.
“The FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer lowers the barrier to advanced spectral flow cytometry and will open up new possibilities for immunology research, enabling our core facility to help scientists uncover deeper biological insights with greater standardization and confidence,” says Cheryl Kim, senior director of the flow cytometry core at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, in a release. “We look forward to the FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer being an integral instrument for our core, allowing our researchers to get the most out of spectral data to advance our important work of improving human health through the development of treatments and cures for immune system disorders.”
Expanding Spectral Capabilities and Standardization
According to Waters, the platform builds on technology first introduced with the BD FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter, which demonstrated a 50-color flow cytometry panel.
“The FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer couples advanced spectral performance and leading standardization with a compelling price-to-performance balance, bringing spectral flow cytometry within reach of more researchers than ever before, for applications from biomarker discovery to drug development,” says Steve Conly, senior vice president of Waters Biosciences at Waters Corp, in a release. “Just two years after the world’s very first 50-color flow cytometry panel was developed on the BD FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter, the FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer extends these transformative capabilities, helping labs meet their increasingly critical needs for reproducibility within our connected ecosystem of instruments, reagents, and informatics.”
The BD FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer is available globally through local representatives, according to the release. Following Waters Corporation’s acquisition of the BD Biosciences and BD Diagnostic Solutions units, Becton, Dickinson and Company serves as the legal manufacturer of the instruments until regulatory transfers are finalized.
Photo caption: BD FACSDiscover A7 Cell Analyzer
Photo credit: Waters Corp
