The ViaPlex 2-Color Cell Barcoding Kit uses two reactive fluorescent dyes to combine up to 15 distinct cell populations in one tube, reducing reagent use and run time.

Biotium has released the ViaPlex 2-Color Cell Barcoding Kit, a fluorescent cell barcoding tool that allows researchers to label and pool up to 15 distinct cell populations into a single tube for multiplex flow cytometry analysis, according to a release from the Fremont, CA-based company.

The kit combines two cell-permeant reactive fluorescent dyes—ViaPlex 405 Barcoding Dye, optimized for the 405 nm laser/Pacific Blue filter, and ViaPlex 488 Barcoding Dye, optimized for the 488 nm laser/fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) filter—used at varying concentrations to generate a 15-plex barcoding matrix. An optional 16th barcode can be incorporated using stain-specific compensation, according to the company.

Once cell populations are barcoded, they can be combined into a single tube for antibody staining and later distinguished during analysis. The approach reduces the number of individual samples that need to be run, lowering reagent consumption and shortening overall run times, according to the release.

“The ViaPlex Cell Barcoding Kit is an exciting new product that should be very useful for researchers doing drug screening or other cellular screening by flow,” says Alexis Madrid, PhD, assistant director of Biotium’s Bioscience department, in a release.

Workflow Flexibility and Live Cell Compatibility

A notable feature of the ViaPlex kit, according to Biotium, is that its barcoding process does not require fixation or permeabilization, enabling its use with live cells. Barcoding can be performed either before or after cell treatment, which Biotium says accommodates a wide range of experimental designs.

The kit is compatible with both surface and intracellular antibody staining workflows. The covalent dye labeling also remains stable if cells are subsequently fixed and permeabilized for intracellular detection, according to the company.

Addressing Throughput Demands in Drug Discovery and Immunology

As demand for faster and more cost-effective drug discovery and immunology workflows continues to rise, cell barcoding offers laboratories a way to increase throughput while maintaining data quality, according to the release. By pooling samples prior to staining, the technique also reduces technical variation between samples and improves sample-to-sample consistency, Biotium says.

The ViaPlex kit is designed for use with flow cytometry platforms equipped with 405 nm and 488 nm lasers and is compatible with high-throughput screening applications.

The release states that key advantages of the kit include:

  • Combining up to 15 cell samples in a single staining reaction

  • An optional 16th barcode with stain-specific compensation

  • Reduced reagent use and fewer flow samples to run

  • Improved sample-to-sample consistency

  • Compatibility with surface and intracellular staining

  • Live cell compatibility, with optional fixation after barcoding

  • Stable covalent fluorescent dye labeling for clean population separation

  • Optimized for the 405 nm (Pacific Blue) and 488 nm (FITC) channels

The ViaPlex 2-Color Cell Barcoding Kit expands Biotium’s portfolio of flow cytometry reagents, which also includes validated antibodies with CF dyes against common immune targets and Live-or-Dye Fixable Viability Stains for dead cell labeling in 18 colors, according to the company.

PACIFIC BLUE is a registered trademark of Thermo Fisher Scientific. CF is a registered trademark of Biotium, Inc.

Photo caption: ViaPlex 2-Color Cell Barcoding Kit

Photo credit: Biotium