CTAS is a novel capillary-based vacuum-assisted device that can be attached to an inverted microscope to dissect tissue slices and cell cultures at the cellular resolution. High quality RNA, protein, and DNA are isolated from CTAS dissected samples, suitable for microarrays, Western blots, and sequencing. Further, CTAS will collect cells without affecting viability so that the collected cells can be used for further culturing. The current prototype has been tested to demonstrate its capabilities with tissue samples from the central nervous system, i.e. brain and spinal cord. This instrument can be applied for the collection of various tissue and cell types, and is capable of collecting subanatomical regions, cell clusters and specific cells from native tissues for the purpose of their culturing. Tissue microdissection and cell sorting technologies have advanced in the last decade from manual dissection to sophisticated but costly laser capture microdissection (LCM) instruments and high speed fluorescence assisted cell sorting systems (FACS). The advantage of CTAS is its cost effectiveness and ease of use compared to the existing technologies of LCM and FACS.
The user will use the X-Y mechanical stage to locate the tissue/cells of interest and press a button to initiate the suction of those tissue/cells, which will be collected into the capillary. With the trinocular model, the user will be able to operate the device while viewing the computer screen instead of through the binocular lens. The glass capillaries are disposable consumables. The vacuum duration and strength, as well as the calibration for the capillary positioning, are controlled by the box on the right hand side. The X-Y mechanical stage has been placed on the microscope in the opposite orientation to the conventional position to allow the user to access the CTAS buttons and the stage mover more ergonomically. The system comes with two adjustable gooseneck white light sources.
If you are interested in testing or purchasing CTAS, please contact us.