Automated Handheld Cell Counting

Scepter™ Technology

PINPOINT ACCURACY

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THE NEW, MORE ACCURATE WAY TO COUNT CELLS The first and only device to bring consistency in cell counting right to the culture hood is here: the Scepter handheld, automated cell counter.

While other automated counters consume bench space and

rely on object recognition software, manual focusing, and

clumsy loading chambers, the Scepter cell counter provides

true automation without the error that accompanies

vision-based systems.

With its microfabricated, precision-engineered sensor, the Scepter

cell counter does all the work and delivers accurate

and reliable cell counts in less than 20 seconds.

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The Gold Standard Counter: Smaller than Ever.The Scepter cell counter uses the Coulter principle of impedance-based particle detection to reliably and accurately count every cell in your sample.

Particles are detected by Ohm’s Law V=IR(V=voltage, I=current, and R=resistance)

• Precise volumes are drawn into the Scepter sensor

• As cells flow through the aperture in the sensor, resistance increases. This increase in resistance causes a subsequent increase in voltage.

• Voltage changes are recorded as spikes with each passing cell.

• Spikes of the same size are bucketed into a histogram and counted. This histogram gives you quantitative data on cell morphology that can be used to examine the

quality and health of your cell culture.

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Perc

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CV

Scepter cell counter Vision-based counter Hemocytometer

= Average %CV

= Coulter Counter %CV

Figure 1. The average percent coefficient of variation (CV) for each counting method shown was calculated using cell concentration measurements at 50,000 cells/mL samples of 19 different cell lines. The Scepter cell counter is more precise than vision-based counting and hemocytometry, and approaches the precision of the Coulter Counter standard (red bars). Error bars represent standard deviation.

Accurate Counts Every TimeYou work too hard to lose data to erroneous cell counts. Be confident that your counts are right the first time.

Scepter counting gives you the accuracy of the Coulter Counter™ at a price you can afford.

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GAIN INSIGHT THROUGH POWERFUL COUNTING TECHNIqUES

• See your cultures with unprecedented detail

• Easy-to-read histograms and numerical statistics

• Data manipulation and storage on Scepter device or with software

• Track cell health as you monitor histograms from one preparation to the next

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ACCURACY THROUGH SENSOR TECHNOLOGY• Precisely counts consistent sample volumes

• Accurately counts every cell in your sample

• Cell discrimination at sub-micron and sub-picoliter resolution

INTRICACY SIMPLIFIED BY TRULY AUTOMATED DATA ACqUISITION• Pipette once for data in seconds

• Use on-site right at the hood

• Intuitive and easy to use with on screen instructions

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Scepter Technology: More Intuitive, More Informative, and More Precise

Cell Counter Format Counting Methods Comments

Hemocytometer Slide and microscope Manual, vision-based User bias and human error create irreproducible results

Brand I Benchtop Automated vision-based system Object recognition software-dependent, requires focusing and calibration, and can produce unreliable results

Scepter™ Cell Counter Handheld Impedance-based cell detection Counts every cell, every time in very precise volumes to ensure accurate results

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

Coulter counter

Scepter™ cytometer

Flow cytometer

Automated vision-based counterHemocytometer

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

Figure 2. COS7 cell counts using various systems. Data shown are average of four replicates. Error bars represent standard deviation. COS7 cells represent one out of 19 total cell lines tested. Cells were harvested, diluted in PBS, and counted using a Coulter Counter to determine the theoretical starting concentrations. The original cell concentration was divided by the fold dilution at each serial dilution step to determine theoretical concentrations (x axis).

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

Coulter counter

Scepter™ cytometer

Flow cytometer

Automated vision-based counterHemocytometer

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

Coulter counter

Scepter™ cytometer

Flow cytometer

Automated vision-based counterHemocytometer

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

Coulter counter

Scepter™ cytometer

Flow cytometer

Automated vision-based counterHemocytometer

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

There is no need to subjectively determine

cell counts using vision-based counting

methods. The Scepter cell counter detects

every cell, and displays the population as a

histogram of cell size distributions. From

the histogram, count all the cells or use

the gating function to count a chosen

subpopulation. By monitoring changes in

your histogram, you can gain insight into the

health and quality of your cell culture from

one experiment to the next.

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1 Axis= Diameter or Volume

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4 Mean Cell Diameter

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

K562 r2=0.9982

SF9 r2=0.998

U266 r2=0.9996

Mesenchymal SC r2=0.9938HeLa r2=0.999

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

K562 r2=0.9982

SF9 r2=0.998

U266 r2=0.9996

Mesenchymal SC r2=0.9938HeLa r2=0.999

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

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Scep

ter

Cel

l Cou

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

K562 r2=0.9982

SF9 r2=0.998

U266 r2=0.9996

Mesenchymal SC r2=0.9938HeLa r2=0.999

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

0.0E+00

1.0E+05

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0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 350000 400000 450000 500000

Scep

ter

Cel

l Cou

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Theoretical Cell Concentration (Cells/mL)

K562 r2=0.9982

SF9 r2=0.998

U266 r2=0.9996

Mesenchymal SC r2=0.9938HeLa r2=0.999

Theoretical cell concentration (cells/mL)

Figure 3. Scepter counting performs with high linearity (R2 > 0.993) across multiple, diverse cell lines, over a wide operating range. Shown here are cell concentration data for five representative lines out of 19 total cell lines tested.

Exhaustively tested for your peace of mind We tested over 20 cell lines – including adherent, suspension, differentiated and progenitor cells –

to validate the Scepter cell counter’s precision and operating range.

Tested Cell Lines

Cell Line NameMeasured Average

Size (µm)Adherent / Suspension Origin Source

HEK293 13 - 15 adherent Human kidney Invitrogen Cat. No. R705-07

CHO-K1 15 adherent Chinese hamster ovary ATCC Cat. No. CCl-61

HeLa 13 adherent Human cervical cancer Millipore Cat. No. 20-385

NIH3T3 15 adherent Mouse fibroblasts ATCC Cat. No. CRL-1658,

MCF7 15 - 17 adherent Human breast adenocarcinoma

ATCC Cat. No. HTB-22

Cos-7 15 adherent Monkey kidney cells Genlantis Cat. No. C505100

Jurkat 10 suspension T lymphocytes ATCC Cat. No. TIB-152

SF9 13 mix adh / susp Insect ovary (baculovirus expression)

ATCC Cat. No. CRL 1711

PC12 12 - 13 loosely adherent Rat adrenal gland ATCC Cat. No. 1721

HepG2 15 adherent Hepatocytes ATCC Cat. No. HB8065

K562 15 suspension Human bone marrow ATCC Cat. No. CCL243

U266 12 suspension B lymphocytes ATCC Cat. No. TIB-196

RNSC 11 - 13 adherent Rat neuronal stem cells Millipore Cat. No. scr021

Epithelia 14 - 15 adherent Epithelia CELLnTEC Cat. No. HPEK p.05

HUVEC 12 - 14 adherent Human endothelial Millipore/ISCO Cat. No. SCCE001

Mouse ESC 13 adherent Mouse embryonic stem cells

Millipore Cat. No. SCR012

Mesenchymal SC 15 - 16 adherent Human bone marrow mesenchymal SC

Millipore Cat. No. SCR108

3T3-L1 15 - 16 adherent Human pre-adipocytes ATCC Cat. No. CL-173

hybridoma 13 - 14 suspension Hybridoma (Irs1 pS522.17.5.2)

Children's Hospital Boston Cat. No. 05-1921

Table 1. The cell lines tested represent adherent cells, suspension cells, differentiated, pluripotent, normal and transformed cells, and cover the range of cell types used in most cell research laboratories.

Millipore, Advancing Life Science Together, and EmbryoMax are registered trademarks of Millipore Corporation. Scepter and the M mark are trademarks of Millipore Corporation. Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Vi-CELL and Coulter Counter are registered trademarks of Beckman Coulter, Inc. Z2 is a trademark of Beckman Coulter, Inc. Countess is a trademark of Life Technologies, Inc.Lit. No. PB1264EN00 Printed in U.S.A. 01/10 BS-GEN-09-02652 © 2010 Millipore Corporation, Billerica, MA 01821 U.S.A. All rights reserved.

www.millipore.com

TO PLACE AN ORDER OR RECEIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE In the U.S. and Canada, call toll-free 1 800-Millipore (1-800-645-5476)

In Europe, please call Customer Service:

France: 0825.045.645

Spain: 901.516.645 Option 1

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Italy: 848.845.645

United Kingdom: 0870.900.46.45

For other countries across Europe and the world,

please visit www.millipore.com/offices.

For Technical Service, please visit www.millipore.com/techservice.

SCEPTER CELL COUNTER AND ACCESSORIES

Description qty/Pk Catalogue No.

Scepter Handheld Automated Cell Counter 1 PHCC00000

Includes: Scepter Cell Counter 1

Scepter Software CD 1

O-Rings 2

Scepter Test Beads 1 PHCCBEADS

Scepter USB Cable 1 PHCCCABLE

Scepter Tips, 60 µm 50 PHCC60050

500 PHCC60500

Universal Power Adapter 1 PHCCPOWER

Scepter O-Ring Kit, contains two O-rings and one filter cover 1 kit PHCC0CLIP

ORDERING INFORMATION

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