BD Unveils Industry-Leading High-Parameter Single-Cell Sorting Platform at International Congress of Immunology

BEIJING, Oct. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The 17th International Congress of Immunology (ICI) grandly opened in Beijing, co-hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and the Chinese Society for Immunology. As a triennial academic feast for the international immunology community, the International Congress of Immunology is the most prestigious, largest, and most comprehensive academic event in the global field of immunology.One of, held for the first time in China, attracted over 6,000 professionals from the field of immunology worldwide to participate in this grand event.

BD, a global leader in medical technology and the pioneer of flow cytometry, announced at the conference the launch of its new FACSymphony™ S6 cell sorter in China. This innovation significantly increases the number of cell sorting parameters in immunology research from the current 20 to 60, ushering in a new era in the field of single-cell sorting. Furthermore, the single-cell sorting platform featuring this instrument integrates with BD’s high-parameter single-cell analysis platform and single-cell multi-omics research platform to form “three major platforms” that cover the entire workflow from cell analysis to sorting and multi-omics research, providing cutting-edge, closed-loop services for immunology research in China.

Immunology: A Highly Dynamic Field of Basic Research

“The immune system” is an extremely vital system in the human body, with nearly all diseases being closely linked to immunity. The primary immune cells in the human body include T cells, B cells, and NK cells, among others, each containing unique antigen subpopulations and functional molecules. Therefore, research on immune cells holds significant importance for understanding disease mechanisms, as well as for prevention, progression monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment strategies.

Director Wu Yuzhang of the Institute of Immunology of the Chinese People's Liberation Army saidDao“In recent years, the importance of immunology has become increasingly prominent. Through continuous interdisciplinary integration, a series of innovative and revolutionary breakthroughs have emerged, ranging from basic research to clinical translation, giving rise to many exciting new hotspots in the scientific community. With the rapid development of scientific research in China, immunology holds immense potential and a promising future in the country. The holding of this conference in China aims to leverage cutting-edge international technologies and expertise to propel Chinese immunology research onto the global stage, bringing us even greater surprises.”

At the conference, Dr. Bing Su, Director of the Shanghai Institute of Immunology, statedEveryone: “For many years, flow cytometry, as one of the key technologies for cell analysis, has provided important technical support for the development of immunology research. Currently, internationally advanced single-cell research can achieve precise analysis of entire cell samples, screen out target cells, and conduct more in-depth multi-omics analysis of cellular proteins and genes, making the overall research results comprehensive, accurate, and efficient.”

BD Biosciences Successfully Builds “Three Major Technology Platforms” to Provide Efficient, Intelligent, Closed-Loop Services for Immunology Research

Since introducing the world’s first commercial flow cytometer in 1973 to today’s single-cell multi-omics platforms, BD Biosciences has remained committed to being a comprehensive provider of cell multi-omics solutions. It has pioneered three major cell multi-omics research technology platforms—spanning analysis, sorting, and single-cell multi-omics—that integrate instruments, reagents, analytical software, and services. Equipped with BD’s proprietary quality control system, these platforms ensure quality control at every step of sample analysis, empowering researchers to conduct experiments with high efficiency and superior quality.

Robert Balderas, Chief Scientific Officer at BD Global, stated: “The advent of the big data era is driving rapid advancements in scientific research. To meet the ever-evolving and high demands of the scientific community for cellular research, BD continuously pushes the boundaries through rapid technological innovations, repeatedly breaking records we ourselves have set. The FACSymphony™ S6 Cell Sorter has achieved multiple ‘firsts’ in the industry. Its newly designed lasers and signal detectors, coupled with military-grade signal-to-noise ratios, expand and deepen scientists’ multidimensional exploration of cells. Furthermore, it provides comprehensive, customized services tailored to researchers’ specific focus areas and unique requirements.”

Not long ago, BD launched the BD Rhapsody™ single-cell multi-omics analysis platform in China, enabling simultaneous profiling of proteins and genes. The introduction of the FACSymphony™ S6 single-cell sorting platform has further strengthened BD’s immunology research portfolio, delivering cell sorting with unprecedented precision and performance. The comprehensive upgrade of these “three major technology platforms” marks BD as the first industry leader capable of providing efficient, intelligent, and closed-loop services to accelerate discoveries in immunology research.

60 “Notes” Compose a Beautiful “Symphony” of Single-Cell Sorting

By choosing China as the global launch country for the BD FACSymphony™ S6 single-cell sorting system, BD demonstrates its strategic emphasis on the Chinese market. The S6 seamlessly integrates the industry’s highest six-way ultra-high-speed sorting with 60-parameter analysis technology, complemented by index sorting, to enable comprehensive tracking and tracing of cellular lineage and history. Furthermore, as a fully customizable sorting system, the S6 can be tailored to customers’ specific research fields and unique requirements, overcoming the hardware limitations of standardized products and delivering high-quality, matched solutions for complex studies in immunology.

Professor Wu Hounan from the Health Science Center of Peking University, as the user of the world’s first S6 single-cell sorting system, excitedly shared withEveryone“He noted that expanding the detection parameters from 18 to 60 fluorescent channels represents a significant technological breakthrough. Previously, a target cell could be analyzed using no more than a dozen markers, but the advent of the S6 has enabled an exponential increase in data volume. This not only enhances the efficiency of cell sorting but, more importantly, facilitates the discovery of novel cell populations and their interactions, thereby elevating both the depth and breadth of single-cell research to a new level.”

Lü Wen, Vice President of BD’s Biosciences Business in Greater China, stated: “High-parameter flow cytometry has long been a core strength for BD. Introducing the world’s first high-parameter single-cell sorting system to Chinese immunology researchers exemplifies our steadfast commitment to being rooted in China. BD has accompanied and witnessed the rapid advancement of immunology research in China, which is now gaining momentum and steadily catching up with international standards. With the launch of the S6, BD now offers a closed-loop service model providing comprehensive high-parameter technical support across the entire workflow in immunology research. Moving forward, BD will continue to leverage its cutting-edge technologies and robust service team to empower Chinese immunology research to shine on the global stage.””