Find the right ioCells for CNS Research, Disease Modelling, and Functional Genomics
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Despite decades of research into iPSCs, emerging cures for some of the world’s most pervasive diseases have been bottlenecked by a lack of access to standardized, easy to use and readily accessible human cells. Developed on bit.bio´s platform, and powered by optimised inducible overexpression (opti-ox™), ioCells are human cells deterministically programmed from iPSCs consistently, at scale. With ioCells, scientists no longer need to battle with variance, unreliability, physiological irrelevance and long experimental timelines. Instead, scientists can finally focus on the next great advances in human health. |
Explore the Selection Guide to Identify the Best-performing ioCells for Your Specific Application
ioWild Type Cells
ioWild Type Cells are human iPSC-derived cells with a healthy donor background, ready to grow in a assay-plate format.
| Name | Reference | Description | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| ioAstrocytes | ioEA1093 | iPSC-derived astrocytes demonstrate expected stellate morphology, express key astrocytic markers (SOX9, EAAT1, S100B and Vimentin), are capable of phagocytosis, cytokine secretion, and modulation of neuronal activity in co-culture. | Ideal for multi-cellular in vitro modelling studies of complex CNS biology |
| ioMicroglia | io1029S / L, io1021S / L | iPSC-derived microglia express key microglia markers, including TMEM119, P2RY12, IBA1, TREM2, CX3CR1, CD11b, CD45, and CD14. ioMicroglia also display chemotaxis and can be co-cultured with ioGlutamatergic Neurons™. | Ideal for in vitro multi-cellular neuroinflammation studies and neurodegenerative disease modeling |
| ioOligodendrocyte-like cells | io1028S | Resemble a pre-myelinating oligodendrocyte and show increased MBP expression in co-culture with neurons. Express MBP, PLP1, CNP and MAG. | Ideal for compound screening and phenotypic assays for neurodegenerative and demyelinating disease |
| ioSkeletal Myocytes | io1002S / L | Contract in 2D culture in response to stimuli. 3D muscle bundles form in 3-5 days and remain stable for at least 21 days. | Ideal for skeletal muscle studies and modelling Duchenne muscular dystrophy |
| ioGABAergic Neurons | io1003S | Express GAD1, GAD2, VGAT, DLX1 and DLX2. Show spontaneous activity via calcium imaging. | Ideal for multi-cellular CNS modelling studies |
| ioGlutamatergic Neurons | io1001S / L | Express >80% glutamate transporter genes VGLUT1 and VGLUT2. Functional excitatory neurons. | Ideal for studying excitatory signalling and neurodegenerative diseases |
| ioSensory Neurons | io1024S | Highly pure sensory neuronal population (>99%) with nociceptor identity. Respond to TRPV1, TRPM3 and TRPM8 agonists. | Ideal for chronic pain research and drug development |
| ioMotor Neurons | io1027S | Express MNX1(HB9), FOXP1, ISL2 and cholinergic markers CHAT & SLC18A3. | Ideal for ALS and neuromuscular disease studies |
ioTracker Cells
ioTracker Cells enable tracking of cellular behaviour in complex experiments without additional labelling or using engineering reporting iPSC-derived cells.
| Name | Reference | Description | Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| GFP ioMicroglia Male | io1096S | iPSC-derived microglia GFP maintain the key characteristics and functionalities of ioMicroglia Male, including >90% expression of IBA1, robust microglial phagocytosis and pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. | GFP Microglia is ideal for live-cell imaging enabling the assessment of cell motility and visualisation of microglial activation states |
| GFP ioGlutamatergic Neurons | io1107S | iPSC-derived GFP Glutamatergic neurons express >80% glutamate transporter genes VGLUT1 and VGLUT2. They are functional excitatory neurons, with no inhibitory neurons. Easy to co-culture with ioMicroglia and ioAstrocytes. | Glutamatergic Neurons are ideal for live cell imaging for assessment of neurite outgrowth, neuronal morphology and survival in response to compound treatment. |
ioTracker Cells allow you to:
- Conduct live-cell imaging in multi-cell cultures
Leverage marker expression to track cellular interactions dynamically, offering real-time data critical for understanding cellular behavior in complex systems. - Simplify cell sorting without antibody staining
Isolate ioTracker Cells from multi-cell cultures, eliminating the need for antibody-based sorting. - Gain deeper insights through high-throughput imaging
Obtain detailed cellular morphology data using high-content imaging platforms, streamlining drug development and disease modelling. - Explore cell type distribution in 3D in vitro models
Visualise successful integration into organoids, assembloids, and 3D spheroids without the need for fixation or staining. - Visualise transplanted hiPSCs in vivo
Assess cell type integration and maturity post-in vivo transplant without antibody staining.
GFP ioMicroglia express key microglia markers: Immunofluorescent staining on day 10 post-revival demonstrates similar homogenous expression of microglia markers P2RY12 and IBA1 and ramified morphology in GFP ioMicroglia compared to ioMicroglia Male (io1021S). GFP expression can be visualised throughout the cytosol in every cell for GFP ioMicroglia, but not in the WT control. 10X magnification.
CRISPR-Ready ioCells
CRISPR-Ready ioCells are powerful first-of-their-kind functional genomics tools for studying your genes of interest in a physiologically relevant model.
| CRISPR knockout (CRISPRko-Ready) |
CRISPR activation (CRISPRa-Ready) |
CRISPR interference (CRISPRi-Ready) |
|---|---|---|
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CRISPRko-Ready ioGlutamatergic Neurons (io1090S) |
CRISPRa-Ready ioGlutamatergic Neurons (io1099S) |
CRISPRi-Ready ioMicroglia Male (io1103S) |
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CRISPRko-Ready ioMicroglia (io1094S) |
CRISPRa-Ready ioMicroglia Male (io1102S) |
CRISPRi-Ready ioGlutamatergic Neurons (io1098S) |
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CRISPRko-Ready ioMotor Neurons (io1101S) |
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CRISPRko-Ready ioOligodendrocyte-like cells (io1095S) |
What CRISPR-Ready ioCells offer?
- Generate high-efficiency gene perturbations in defined, consistent and functional human cells that can scale to CRISPR screening workflows.
- You only need to refine your guide RNA designs to run high-efficiency CRISPR experiments.
- The cells are delivered cryopreserved, ready for guide delivery by transfection or transduction within days post-thaw.
Watch this webinar to learn how opti-ox powered the generation of large scale CRISPR screens for the identification of new therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases:
A simple and quick guide to go from seeding to gene knockout, activation, or interference in days:
Explore the selection guide to identify the best-performing ioCells for your specific application
Figure 2: Workflow of the One-Step™ Luciferase Assay. The protocol is designed as a homogeneous one-step assay, allowing rapid processing of samples while maintaining excellent sensitivity.
The One-Step™ Luciferase Assay consists of two components:
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Luciferase Reagent Buffer (Component A)
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Luciferase Reagent Substrate (Component B)
Once mixed, these components form a Master Mix containing all reagents required for both cell lysis and luciferase detection. This eliminates multiple preparation steps and simplifies assay handling.
Bright & Stable Luminescence Signals
One of the key challenges in luciferase assays is signal stability. Many reagents produce strong initial signals that decay rapidly, forcing laboratories to read plates immediately and limiting experimental flexibility.
The One-Step™ Luciferase Assay generates a bright luminescent signal that remains stable for hours, allowing researchers to measure plates without strict timing constraints.
Figure 3: Stability of the luminescence signal of the One-Step™ Luciferase Assay.
Figure 4: Performance comparison of the One-Step™ Luciferase Assay with a leading competitor.
Why Researchers Choose the One-Step™ Luciferase Assay
Looking for Dual-Reporter Assays?
High sensitivity
Detect even low levels of firefly luciferase activity with reliable signal intensity, supporting precise quantification across a wide dynamic range.
Long signal stability
Luminescence remains stable for more than two hours, providing flexibility in plate reading and experimental scheduling.
Simple one-step protocol
The homogeneous workflow reduces handling steps, minimises pipetting errors, and improves reproducibility.
Ideal for high-throughput screening
The simplified assay format is well-suited for HTS applications, enabling efficient screening of compounds or pathway modulators.
Broad compatibility
The assay performs well in commonly used culture media containing 0–10% serum and phenol red, allowing easy integration into existing experimental protocols.
No injector required
The assay does not require a luminometer equipped with injectors, making it compatible with standard plate readers.
For experiments requiring internal normalisation or dual-reporter measurements, BPS Bioscience also offers the TWO-Step Luciferase (Firefly & Renilla) Assay.
This assay enables rapid, high-throughput quantification of both Firefly and Renilla luciferases from a single sample in mammalian cell culture, providing robust data normalisation for reporter assays.
Figure 5: TWO-Step Luciferase (Firefly & Renilla) Assay System protocol overview.
The Firefly Luciferase Reagent is added directly to the cell culture medium. This reagent lyses the cells and contains a substrate that allows Firefly luciferase to generate a luminescence signal. Next, the Renilla Luciferase Reagent is added to the same well. The reagent quenches the Firefly luciferase luminescence and provides the substrate for Renilla luciferase to generate Renilla luciferase luminescence signal. The signal generated by both reactions can be conveniently measured on a luminometer.
Ready to Optimise your Luciferase Assays?
Would you like to improve assay performance while reducing reagent costs?
We offer introductory testing opportunities for the One-Step™ Luciferase Assay and the TWO-Step Luciferase (Firefly & Renilla) Assay.
Get in touch today to request your introductory offer.
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References
Article content created by Tebubio using courtesy materials provided by BPS Bioscience.
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