Electroporation deal
technology to enhance the performance of its Axoporator products,
used to deliver DNA and other large molecules into cells.
Swedish biotech tools company Cellectricon has granted an exclusive license to its patented electroporation technology to Axon Instruments of the USA. Axon plans to incorporate the licensed technology into its Axoporator line of products, used for rapid internalisation of DNA, drugs and large molecules into cells.
Electroporation is a technique by which DNA, RNA, proteins, dyes, drugs and other large molecules are inserted directly into cells. An electrical discharge is applied to the cells to transiently break down the cell membrane, creating small holes called electropores. There electropores can stay open for several minutes during which time the molecules pass into the cell. After they close, cells can function normally.
Jakob Lindberg, Cellectricon's CEO, said that deal fitted in with its strategy of licensing out technologies outside its core focus on high-throughput cell-based assays. The agreement includes undisclosed license fees and future royalties, he noted.
Axon noted that transfection techniques such as electroporation are an important part of modern molecular biology, particularly in stem-cell research and genomics. The company's Axoporator instrument targets single cells, and so can be used for more complex and refined experiments than traditional electroporators, said the company's CEO, Alan Finkel. "It is the first of a new generation of transfection products that will provide researchers unprecedented ability to modify single cells," he added.
In single-cell electroporation, molecules are introduced to individual, selected cells. This is important for applications where only a small number of cells are available, the researcher wants to target specific cells, or when the molecules of interest are rare and valuable.
