The Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter team from Propel Labs is now a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The innovative sorter, now part of the Thermo Fisher product family, provides high performance, flexibility, safety, and scalability to meet laboratory needs today and in the future.

The Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter: Accelerating Science

In May 2020, the Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter was shared with the global flow cytometry community with a virtual launch.  Hear directly from leaders in the field of High Parameter Flow Cytometry on their experience with the speed, sensitivity, ease of use, and flexible features of the Bigfoot Cell Sorter during a panel at CYTO 2021.

Delivers high performance and high throughput for versatility

The Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter supports configurations with up to nine lasers (349nm, 405nm, 445nm, 488nm, 532nm, 561nm, 594nm, 640nm, 785nm) and 60 detectors, delivering versatility for both standard fluorescence detection and spectral unmixing. Multiple scatter options enhance flexibility with simultaneous standard and small particle detection, multi-laser scatter detection, and polarization.

With sort rates >70,000 eps and analysis rates of >100,000 eps, the Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter is fast and configurable. The sorter is capable of 6-way sorting into tubes, 4-way sorting into 96 well plates, 8-way sorting into 384 well plates or straight down sorting into 1536 well plates. In addition, virtual 18-way sorting allows researchers to separate multiple populations from a single sample or different samples. 

Built-in automation for ease-of-use

Advanced automation and software allow operators with all levels of knowledge to use and control the system with confidence. Integrated control systems ensure optimal droplet formation persistence and position stabilization over time ensuring accurate drop delay maintenance through the day.
To streamline workflow and reduce user errors, automated stream calibration and drop delay simplify sort setup while bubble detection notifies the operator and stops the sort to preserve precious samples. Integrated temperature control (4-37°C) and agitation maintain sample integrity for sample input while temperature control of the output maintains the viability of sorted samples.

Flexibility to support a range of cell types and applications

The Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter’s jet-in-air sensing is gentle with fragile cells to maximize viability at high sort speeds, minimizing impact on yield.  A swap tip wizard simplifies setup of 50, 70, 100, 120, and 150 μm nozzle tips.

Swap Tip Wizard

Simply unscrew the retaining collar to remove and replace with a new tip or a tip of a different size. After replacing the retaining collar, the Swap Tip Wizard performs automatic QC adjustments to optimize the stream position.

For added flexibility, the system enables sampling from 6 input positions that automatically detect the tube size (1.5, 5, or 15mL) based on the adapter used. Precise single-droplet targeting ensures unprecedented accuracy, recovery, and speed down to single-cell sorting. User configurable sort output holders include 1.5, 5, 15, and 50mL tubes, microwell plates up to 1536 wells, microscope slides, and 10x chips.

Integrated biosafety cabinet for operator and sample protection

The Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter features an integrated Class II biocontainment cabinet, which meets the equivalent functional personnel and product protection standards for a Class II Type A2 biosafety cabinet defined by the National Sanitation Foundation International Standard 49.  The custom designed cabinet provides safety and protection without compromising high parameter sorter performance or impacting workflow.  A separate aerosol management system meets ISAC guidelines for cell sorters.