
Taking inspiration from George Whitesides’ resonance spectroscopy and chemical analysis methods, LevitasBio has developed an innovative approach for isolating and characterizing cells. For sampling processes, researchers will typically need to identify and label particles, for which they generally use dyes or labels, which naturally modifies the cells. Researchers also employ mechanically stressful and time-consuming techniques for separating the cells, such as high-pressure separation or mechanical collection with metallic beads, which damage the samples. While these shortcomings are challenging to overcome individually, LevitasBio mitigates all of them with its next generation solution. Martin Pieprzyk, CEO of LevitasBio, says, “We start with a native biological sample, and enable the researchers to process and analyze the sample in a way that doesn’t cause any damage, and doesn’t change the state of the sample itself.”
Their flagship solution, theLeviCell platform, enables researchers to avoid an invasive labeling process and harsh mechanical manipulation. It utilizes a levitation process which separates the cells gently, without any chemical or mechanical operation.
LevitasBio: Empowering the Next Generation of Advanced Cellular Analysis
We start right up from with native biological sample, and enable the researchers to process and analyze the sample in a way that doesn’t cause any damage, and doesn’t change the state of the sample itself
NCI has access to and deals with vast banks of frozen blood and tissue samples from different patients. NCI initially employed traditional freezing methods for the samples, but only a few cells survived the process. The company needed a solution that could enrich the viable cells from frozen samples that are highly valuable and sensitive to handling. LevitasBio solved this problem and offered LeviCell to NCI for extracting viable cells from frozen samples.
Since their commercial release in June 2020, LevitasBio has become an exciting new player in the sample preparation space, progressing science through their ability to elevate sample analysis. The company now has plans to expand their portfolio with high throughput analysis and separations by the end of this year. LevitasBio also aims at moving towards analytical paths that will empower researchers to process and isolate cells and determine their count, types, and abilities. The company aspires to advance its technology to fulfill the unmet requirements of sampling processes and help companies make their research more efficient. As Steinberg concludes, “We want to provide them an optimized protocol with all the reagents, consumables, and optimization that they need to either accelerate or improve their operations.”