The Sensific DropletONE Sort is an integrated droplet generation, imaging and sorting platform that produces, analyses and sorts droplets in real time on a single benchtop instrument.
Available in two configurations: DGO200 Sort with dual pressure control and single emulsion chip holder, DGO300 Sort with triple pressure control and double emulsion chip holder.
Microfluidic chips, pressure supply and control computer are not included. Generation and imaging without sorting are available on the standard DropletONE versions.
General
Produce, analyse and sort in one pass
DropletONE Sort closes the loop between droplet generation and selection. Each droplet is imaged as it is produced, classified against the criteria you set, and sorted before it leaves the chip. There is no collection step, no offline analysis and no second instrument between generation and the fraction you actually want.
Everything in one instrument
Building a droplet sorting platform usually means assembling a pressure controller, flow sensors, a microscope, a high-speed camera, sorting electronics and an acquisition PC, then making them talk to each other. DropletONE Sort ships as one integrated unit:
- Precision pressure controllers with flow sensing on every channel
- Integrated ODIN imaging sensor with on-board analysis
- Pulsed illumination synchronised with image capture
- Active dielectrophoretic sorting at the chip junction
- Single software interface for flow control, imaging, gating and sorting
Typical applications
- Single-cell encapsulation, sorting and Drop-Seq workflows
- Antibody discovery and B cell screening
- Enzyme activity and drug-cell interaction assays
- Cell-cell interaction studies and immune cell selection
- Spheroid and organoid generation and sorting
- Bacteria, yeast and algae screening
- Directed evolution and strain selection
Pressure control you can actually see working
Pressure resolution reaches 0.03 % of full scale with stability below 0.1 % CV, response times as low as 30 ms and settling under 70 ms. What matters in practice is that the imaging sensor measures the droplets those pressures produce, in the same instrument, at the same moment.
Drift in your emulsion shows up as a change in measured droplet diameter rather than as a surprise at the end of the run. Pressure ranges and flow sensor models are selected when you order, so the instrument matches the flow regime your chips actually need.
Image-based sorting, with the proof recorded
Sorting decisions are made on the image of each droplet rather than on a single intensity threshold, which lets you select on what the droplet contains and how it looks. Sensific reports sorting efficiency, selectivity and purity up to 99 %.
A multispectral image is recorded for every droplet before and after sorting, so your quality control is built into the run rather than performed afterwards. Sorting takes place in the enclosed channel, which preserves sample viability for downstream culture, sequencing or assay work.
Real-time droplet analysis and gating
Analysis on board, not afterwards
The integrated sensor images at up to 10,000 frames per second and extracts measurements with a latency below 200 microseconds, which is what makes a sorting decision possible before the droplet reaches the junction.
- Two independent readout regions for two-stage processes or inline quality control
- Scatter and line plots with image link: click a point and see the droplet behind it
- Arbitrary polygon gating directly in the plot, with gate combining
- Smart Imaging Mode recording only what is relevant: all images, particles only, or one image per particle
- Unlimited recording in RAW, AVI, MJPEG or MP4, with data exported to XLS, XLSX or CSV
Features & benefits
- Cut your setup time: one instrument replaces a bench of separate controllers, sensors, optics, sorting electronics and acquisition hardware, with no integration work on your side.
- Select on content, not on a threshold: image-based decisions combine morphology and size criteria, which raises the purity of your collected fraction and cuts false positives.
- Work label-free: no staining step means less sample preparation and no dye-related perturbation of your cells.
- Recover usable droplets: sorting inside the enclosed channel preserves sterility and cell viability for downstream culture or sequencing.
- Verify as you go: every droplet is imaged before and after sorting, so your quality control is part of the run instead of a separate step.
- Keep your emulsion uniform: pressure stability below 0.1 % CV holds generation conditions constant across long sorting campaigns.
- Keep your chip supplier: the platform works with Sensific sorting chips and is open to other microfluidic chips.
- Store less, find more: Smart Imaging Mode keeps only the relevant frames, which makes rare event screening manageable.
Configured for your flow regime
Pressure ranges and flow sensor models are selected according to your needs, from 25 mbar to 2000 mbar and from nanolitre to millilitre per minute flow rates, including vacuum ranges. Tell us about your fluids, your chip geometry, your target droplet size and the criteria you want to sort on, and we will come back with a configuration proposal.
Content
1x DropletONE Sort platform with integrated imaging sensor, pressure controllers, flow sensors, illumination unit and sorting module
1x Chip holder: CH1530 with 4 silicone rubber seals (DGO200 Sort) or CHD1530 with 8 silicone rubber seals (DGO300 Sort)
1x Control, analysis and sorting software
1x User manual (digital copy)
Chip holders are integrated in the instrument and are not currently sold separately. Microfluidic chips, external pressure supply and control computer are not included.
TO CONFIRM: sorting chip holder reference and high-voltage probe connections, tubing, fittings, power supply and cabling included in the delivery.
Specifications
Configurations
| |
DGO200 Sort |
DGO300 Sort |
| Pressure control |
Dual precision pressure controllers |
Triple pressure regulation |
| Chip holder |
CH1530, one chip |
CHD1530, two chips |
| Emulsion type |
Single emulsion |
Single and double emulsion |
| Seals supplied |
4 silicone rubber seals |
8 silicone rubber seals |
| Sorting |
Active dielectrophoretic, integrated |
For double emulsion work on the DGO300 Sort, tell us whether you intend to produce water-in-oil-in-water or oil-in-water-in-oil droplets when ordering chips, so that the correct surface treatment is supplied.
Sorting
| Sorting method |
Active dielectrophoretic |
| Sorting efficiency, selectivity and purity [%] |
Up to 99 % demonstrated |
| Droplet sizes |
10 µm to 1 mm diameter (0.0004 to 0.039 in) |
| Detection method |
Bright field imaging |
| Detection parameters |
Brightness and intensity, brightness contrast, circumference, area and area contrast, surface roughness, colocalization, particle count, fill factor, elongation, circularity, size, velocity, position, granularity, contrast within particles, area of no contrast, particles touching walls or image boundaries, removal of small dirt particles |
| Quality control |
In-line multispectral image per droplet before and after sorting; all droplets recorded |
| Sample viability |
Maximised cell viability, sample available for downstream use |
| Assay-based sorting |
Yes |
Flow control
| Pressure channels |
DGO200 Sort: 2
DGO300 Sort: 3 |
| Pressure ranges [mbar] |
positive pressure: 0 to 25; 0 to 69; 0 to 345; 0 to 1000; 0 to 2000 negative pressure: -25 to 0, -69 to 0, -345 to 0; -800 to 0 |
| Required pressure supply [mbar] |
150 for the 25 and 69 mbar ranges
1100 for the 345 and 1000 mbar ranges
2100 for the 2000 mbar range
-800 for vacuum ranges |
| Pressure resolution |
0.03 % of full scale |
| Pressure stability |
< 0.1 % CV (measured) |
| Pressure response time [ms] |
As low as 30 ms |
| Pressure settling time [ms] |
< 70 ms |
| Flow meters |
3 units (TO CONFIRM for the DGO200 Sort) |
| Flow meter models |
XS, S, M, L, XL, M+ or L+ (selected at order stage, see the table below) |
| Switching valves |
2x 2-switch valves |
Imaging
| Magnification |
2.5x, customisable |
| Frame rate [fps] |
210 fps at 1280 x 1024 px; up to 10,000 fps at 400 x 32 px |
| Sensor type |
Monochrome, 10-bit colour depth, 1/2" active area, global shutter |
| Spectral range [nm] |
300-1000 nm |
| Quantum efficiency [%] |
58 % at 550 nm (peak); 62 % at 630 nm |
| Pixel size [µm] |
4.8 µm |
| Readout regions |
2 freely selectable, simultaneous regions (two-stage processes, inline quality control, parallelisation) |
| Latency [µs] |
< 200 µs from image capture to analysis result; control precision < 10 ns |
| Illumination |
Single-colour pulsed illumination, 0.1 to 5 µs flash length, eliminating motion blur and limiting photodegradation |
| Multi-channel imaging |
Up to 4 simultaneous imaging settings by time multiplexing, on request |
Software
| Analysis |
Real-time analysis of detection parameters including size, velocity, position, circularity, granularity, circumference, area, elongation, brightness and contrast, fill factor, surface roughness, colocalization and particle count |
| Plotting engine |
Scatter and line plots, direct access to image data, cross-channel and intra-channel visualisation, gate combining |
| Gating |
Freely configurable, graphical marking in scatter plot, arbitrary polygon selection |
| Triggers |
Freely programmable and independent, latency down to 200 µs (frame rate dependent) |
| Smart Imaging Mode |
All images; only particles; one image per particle; partial particle removal |
| Storage formats |
RAW; AVI uncompressed; MJPEG; MP4; XLS; XLSX; CSV (infinite recording) |
Optional flow sensors
| Model |
Inner diameter |
Max. pressure [bar] |
Wetted materials |
Flow range |
| XS |
25 µm |
200 bar (2900 psi) |
PEEK, quartz glass |
0 ± 1.5 µL/min |
| S |
150 µm |
200 bar (2900 psi) |
PEEK, quartz glass |
0 ± 7 µL/min |
| M |
430 µm |
100 bar (1450 psi) |
PEEK, borosilicate glass |
0 ± 80 µL/min |
| L |
1 mm |
12 bar (174 psi) |
PEEK, borosilicate glass |
0 ± 1 mL/min |
| XL |
1.8 mm |
5 bar (73 psi) |
PEEK, borosilicate glass |
0 ± 5 mL/min |
| M+ |
400 µm |
12 bar (174 psi) |
PPS, stainless steel 316L |
0 ± 2 mL/min |
| L+ |
400 µm |
12 bar (174 psi) |
PPS, stainless steel 316L |
0 ± 40 mL/min |
Flow control accuracy depends on the sensor model and the flow rate. We will specify the accuracy figures matching your working range.
General specifications
| Dimensions (L x W x H) [mm] |
428 x 380 x 322 mm (16.85 x 14.96 x 12.68 in) (TO CONFIRM for the Sort versions) |
| Weight [kg] |
25 kg (55.1 lb) (TO CONFIRM for the Sort versions) |
| Warranty |
12 months from shipment, extension available on request |
| Operating temperature [°C] |
4 - 40 °C, non-condensing |
| Power supply |
TO CONFIRM |
Documentation
DropletONE specification sheet
