Cell and gene therapies, such as stem cell transplantation, CAR-T cell therapy, and NK cell therapy, are transforming modern medicine. In the research and preparation of cell therapy, isolating and processing specific cell populations is a critical step for both experimental accuracy and clinical efficacy. Biological samples such as blood, bone marrow, or tissue often contain a complex mixture of cell types, debris, and other components that can interfere with downstream analyses or therapeutic applications.

Cell separation, selection, and enrichment are common steps for obtaining pure populations of target cells, such as T cells, NK cells, monocytes, or rare tumor cells, while preserving their viability and functionality. Additional processing steps, including washing, debris removal, concentration, and buffer exchange, are essential to prepare cells for downstream applications such as flow cytometry, single-cell sequencing, functional assays, or therapeutic use.

Cell therapy manufacturing remains complex, labor-intensive, and prone to variability. Each step - from sample preparation to target cell purification - demands high purity, gentle handling, and precise control. The MARS® platform is designed to overcome these challenges; it is an integrated system that unites acoustic debris removal and in-flow immunomagnetic cell isolation.

Amerigo Scientific provides a complete suite of solutions for cell processing and selection. From initial sample preparation to automated cell separation and end-to-end cell therapy workflows, these platforms are designed to simplify complex procedures, reduce manual intervention, and maximize cell recovery and viability.

Sample Pretreatment

The MARS SP uses an acoustic module to process complex biological samples such as whole blood, bone marrow, or tissue. It provides a gentle, automated pretreatment method for delivering high-quality, reproducible samples for downstream cell sorting, analysis, or therapeutic applications.

Features

• High recovery and high activity: Due to the absence of centrifugation and gentle handling, cell damage is reduced, preserving cell/nucleus viability and integrity.
• Simplified workflow: Fewer sample processing steps, no need for centrifugation or density gradients, shortening processing time.
• Label-free technique: Fragmentation or red blood cell removal in the pretreatment stage does not rely on antibody tags, which is beneficial for subsequent enrichment or purification.
• Multi-sample compatibility and flexibility: MARS SP adapts to tubes of different volumes, supports parallel processing, and is suitable for medium to high throughput laboratories.
• Automation and monitoring-friendly: Simple operations of MARS SP in a biosafety cabinet can be achieved, and it is equipped with providing remote control and process monitoring capabilities.

Cell Separation

MARS® Cell Separation systems integrate advanced magnetic and acoustic technologies to deliver high-purity, high-viability cell populations for research and clinical applications. From compact research units to GMP-compliant large-scale systems, the MARS series provides versatile solutions for cell enrichment, purification, and preparation in cell therapy development.

MARS CS combines an ultrasonic module for sample washing and concentration with a magnetic module for positive or negative cell selection, enabling precise selection of specific cell populations such as T cells, NK cells, monocytes, or rare tumor cells. The MARS® Bar is a high-throughput, GMP-grade cell separation platform specifically designed for cell therapy development. The MARS® Bar Flex is a flexible cell separation system designed for research use, supporting independent processing of 1-3 samples and adapting to advanced research workflows.

Column-free Magnetic Cell Isolation Mechanism

Figure 1: Step-by-step process of the MARS® Bar InFlow column-free magnetic cell isolation.

Features

• Column-free immunomagnetic sorting: Utilizing fluid control and magnetic fields to capture target cells, eliminating the need for traditional columns or matrices, thus reducing cell loss and clogging risks.
• High recovery rate and high purity: Obtaining high-purity target cells under gentle processing conditions while maintaining cell viability and integrity, suitable for sensitive downstream applications.
• Gentle processing and preservation of cell viability: Avoiding vigorous centrifugation or mechanical stress, preserving cell membranes, nuclei, and functional integrity, suitable for single-cell analysis, cell culture, and pretreatment for cell therapy.
• Suitable for various sample types and volumes: Supporting complex samples such as whole blood, bone marrow, and Leukopak, as well as various sample volumes, compatible with research or small-scale production needs.

Rapid CAR-T Cell Therapy Manufacturing

Amerigo Scientific offers the MARS Atlas® for simplifying the clinical CAR-T manufacturing process. It integrates traditionally complex and time-consuming manufacturing processes into an efficient, gentle, and reproducible automated system, enabling research and healthcare institutions to deliver point-of-care or personalized cell therapies. The MARS Atlas is a GMP-compliant system featuring sterile-certified tubing sets, GMP-grade reagents, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11–compliant software with an integrated audit trail.

Features

• Simplify the end-to-end process:
  The CAR-T production process is streamlined into three steps: cell isolation → transduction → purification.
  The process can be completed within 24–48 hours, significantly shortening the time from collection to infusion.
• No cell expansion required:
  Eliminating the traditional T cell activation and expansion stages, reducing T cell exhaustion.
  Preserving cell stemness, enhancing CAR-T function and therapeutic efficacy.
• High purity and viability:
  Using GMP-grade nanomagnetic beads for T cell enrichment.
  Reaching over 90% purity while maintaining cell viability, making it suitable for clinical infusion.
• Modularity and flexibility:
  The compact modular design supports small-scale, localized production.
  Reducing equipment footprint and logistics costs make it suitable for point-of-care and personalized treatments.

Application

The MARS® platform integrates efficient microfluidic processing, magnetic sorting, and intelligent analysis technologies, enabling researchers to achieve rapid, gentle, and high-purity cell acquisition from a variety of complex samples. Whether in basic research, translational medicine, or preclinical applications, these instruments significantly improve the recovery rate and usability of target cells, laying a solid foundation for subsequent functional analysis, cell expansion, and therapeutic development.

Stem cell therapy

Figure 2: Hematopoietic Stem cell isolation optimization with an easy and cost-effective protocol: single-pass CD34+ HSC enrichment from baseline 1.9% purity to 88.95% purity and recovery >94.4%

CD138+ cells separation from peripheral whole blood

Figure 3: Whole blood samples were spiked in with CD138+ cells from MM1.S cell line to mimic MRD, PBMC were enriched with Ficoll and processed with MARS platform. We achieved 84% ±11% purity and 70% ±11% recovery, starting from 0.1–0.5% initial abundance, across 10 samples from 6 donors.