Two or more micropipettes are used to increase a microinjection throughput in an automated system for microinjecting adherent cells on a Petri dish. In the system, a motorized stage carrying the Petri dish sequentially visits the cells according to an optimized injection sequence. The sequence is selected by minimizing a total distance traveled by the motorized stage such that each cell is visited once by one of the micropipettes. Using multiple micropipettes advantageously reduces the minimized total distance over using a single micropipette to thereby increase the throughput. The optimized injection sequence is obtained by solving an equality-generalized traveling salesman problem. Each micropipette is mounted on a motorized micromanipulator. The motorized stage and motorized micromanipulators operate coordinately that each micromanipulator goes down or up during movement of the motorized stage to compensate for unevenness between a focus plane and a moving trajectory of the motorized stage.

An accelerator module is connected to an initiator module and generates supersonic waves from subsonic waves generated by the initiator module. The supersonic waves deliver particles to cells in tissues. The accelerator module may include a knocking-detonation transition metal and a detonation material. An example of the knocking-detonation transition metal is copper (I) 5-nitrotetrazolate. Another example of the knocking-detonation transition metal is lead azide. An example of the detonation material is pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN).

A system for injecting a substance into one or more cells of a cell population in a tissue sample, comprising: a robotic manipulator apparatus configured to hold and position a micropipette; an injector controller; a robotic apparatus configured to manipulate a focal plane of a microscope; and a computing device configured to, for each respective cell of the one or more cells of the tissue sample: determine a 3-dimensional location of the respective cell based on images formed by the microscope and captured by a microscope camera; control the robotic manipulator apparatus to insert the micropipette into the respective cell; and control injector controller to eject the substance out of the micropipette and into the respective cell.

This cell treatment device is provided with: a factor introduction device 30 for introducing a pluripotent induction factor into cells so as to prepare induction factor-introduced cells; and a reprogramming suspension culture vessel for culturing the induction factor-introduced cells that have been prepared by the factor introduction device 30.

Acoustic forces in an acoustic field can be increased via introduction of “seeding particles” with higher or similar contrast factor and/or size relative to the particles targeted for retention in the acoustic field. This feature may be implemented in an acoustic concentration device or an acoustic separation device. Increases in acoustic forces lead to better particle retention and can permit increased flow rates through an acoustic particle processing device.

A system for processing cells is provided. The system can include a cell culture container, a fluid handling device, and one or more removable cell processing modules for performing one or more cell processing processes. The one or more removable cell processing modules can include a fluid handling pathway. The one or more removable cell processing modules can be fluidly connected to the cell culture container and the fluid handling device via a receptacle in which the cell processing modules may be inserted. The system can be a closed system.

Methods, tip assemblies and kits are provided for introducing material into cells. The tip assemblies include an attachment portion, a channel portion, and a constriction that function to reduce fluid pressure as a fluid passes through the constriction portion from the channel portion, whereby the tip assemblies form pores in the membranes of cells and introduce material into the cells. The material includes for example one selected from the group of: an inorganic compound, a drug, a genetic material, a protein, a carbohydrate, a synthetic polymer, and a pharmaceutical composition.

In an illustrative embodiment, automated multi-module cell editing instruments are provided to automate multiple edits into nucleic acid sequences inside one or more cells.

An solution transfer device comprises a pump 60 and a substrate 70. The pump 60 comprises a tube 1 for transferring a solution; tube rotors 21A, 21B, 21C, which contact the tube 1; and a driver 10 for transferring a solution within the tube 1 by rotating the tube rotors 21A, 21B, 21C without contacting the tube rotors 21A, 21B, 21C. The substrate 70 is provided with a solution-transferring flow path that is connected to the tube 1 of the pump 60.

A method of controlling a needle actuator to interact with a cell is provided, the method comprising: providing an actuator comprising a tower, a stage and a needle, wherein the needle is mounted on the stage; applying an electrostatic potential between the tower and the stage to retract the needle; moving the actuator towards the cell; reducing the potential so as to allow the stage and needle to move towards the cell; applying calibration data to detect when the needle has pierced the cell; and reducing the potential further once it has been detected that the needle has pierced the cell. The cell can be a biological cell. The needle can be a micro-needle and the stage can be a micro-stage.