On 25 September 2020, eNUVIO introduced the latest microfabricated tool for neuronal compartmentalization and co-culture experiments, the OMEGA-96.
eNUVIO launches OMEGA-96 device
Today, eNUVIO officially announced the launch of the product, making the OMEGA-96 the very first device of its kind. Modelled on the success of its predecessor, the smaller OMEGA-4, the company quickly realized the potential of a high-throughput screening-compatible version of this versatile neuronal microfluidic platform.
The ncompany is able to create microfluidic devices with structural features that have very high aspect ratios. Just two wells are needed per experimental unit as opposed to four in the case of similar products. This effectively doubles the number of experiments that can be performed per plate.
The OMEGA-96 fully conforms with 96-well microplate standards, enabling researchers to conduct 48 individual experiments in parallel on a single plate.The OMEGA series is designed to recreate the natural polarity of neurons as they exist in the nervous system. In its most basic application, the device is used to isolate somatic from axonal compartments of neurons, thereby offering researchers a basic experimental platform with increased physiological relevance.
The multiple parallel microchannels are large enough to allow neurites or axons to project across into the adjacent well but not the neuronal cell bodies (i.e. somas).
Consequently, toxic protein aggregate uptake and transport assays as well as neurotoxicity assays are a breeze to set up and interpret. Used as a co-culture device, the OMEGA-96 is an ideal platform to study neurodegenerative diseases, the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the nigrostriatal pathway, pain pathways, as well as neuronal chemotaxis.
Hugo McGuire, CEO and co-founder of eNUVIO, said: "This development opens the door to more physiologically relevant assays for drug discovery and screening and makes microfluidics-based neuronal compartmentalization and co-culture experiments more affordable than ever before. We are also creating additional types of microfluidics microplates, which will be available in the near future, to easily include long-lasting 3D muscle cultures."