TC20 Automated Cell Counter

TC20 Automated Cell Counter

The TC20 automated cell counter accurately counts cells in one simple step using innovative auto-focus technology and a sophisticated cell-counting algorithm. The TC20 enables accurate cell counting in less than 30 seconds.

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Overview

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The TC20 automated cell counter counts cells in one simple step using its innovative auto-focus technology and sophisticated cell counting algorithm to produce accurate cell counts in less than 30 seconds. Upon insertion of a counting slide, the TC20 cell counter rapidly provides a total cell count (with or without trypan blue staining) and assesses cell viability via trypan blue exclusion.

Key Features and Benefits

  • Compatible with a broad range of cell sizes and types — counts cell lines, primary cells, and stem cells
  • Innovative auto-focus technology — removes the variation associated with manual focusing and leads to precise cell counts in 30 seconds
  • Flexible cell size gating — user selects a population of interest in complex samples, such as primary cells, or lets the cell counting algorithm do all the work
  • Accurate cell viability analysis — analyzes cells using multifocal plane analysis
  • Easy to archive and analyze — stores up to 100 counts in the onboard memory for access any time, or use the optional TC20 data analyzer software on your PC to further analyze exported cell images

Getting all the data you need about your cell cultures is fast and easy; the TC20 cell counter and disposable counting slides eliminate the need for tedious setup, cleaning, or maintenance. The TC20 cell counter is simple and intuitive to use — learn to use the TC20 automated cell counter in the introduction video or take a virtual test drive.

  • TC2 load

    Load

    Load the sample onto a slide.

  • TC20 insert

    Insert

    Insert the slide into the TC20 cell counter; counting automatically begins.

  • TC20 View

    View results

    Obtain a total cell count (without trypan blue) or total and live cell counts (with trypan blue) in 30 seconds.

Get Accurate and Reproducible Results

The TC20 automated cell counter uses microscopy with auto-focus that analyzes multiple focal planes to identify the best plane. Without requiring any user input, the sophisticated cell counting algorithm uses the image acquired from the best focal plane to identify cells and exclude debris, thereby calculating the total cell count. The auto-focus leads to highly reproducible cell counts with reduced user-to-user variability compared to a hemocytometer and cell counters with manual focus. Using auto-focus instead of subjective manual focusing is especially important when assessing cell viability because an incorrectly selected focal plane will lead to inaccurate results.

Unlike cell counters based on electrical impedance (Coulter principle), the TC20 image-based analysis allows the user to view the cells in real time, providing visual proof that the TC20 cell counter has correctly identified cells.

The TC20 automated cell counter provides accuracy comparable to results obtained with a hemocytometer. It can count cells with a 6–50 μm cell diameter and within a broad concentration range of 5 x 104–1 x 107 cells/ml, which eliminates the need to dilute cells, thus reducing errors associated with sample dilutions prior to counting. Read more about how the TC20 compares to a hemocytometer.

This automated counter uses disposable counting slides with a patent-pending design that ensures even distribution of cells throughout the counting chamber, regardless of the user's pipetting style, allowing every user to accurately and consistently count cells.

For complex samples composed of multiple cell populations, such as primary cells, users can adjust the cell size gates to define the population of interest that will be counted. When counting multiple sample replicates, the TC20 automated cell counter can save the position of the cell size gates and apply them to subsequent counts.

When user-defined gates are enabled you can select a population of interest by adjusting the position of the cell size gates.

Cell Viability

The TC20 automated cell counter uses multifocal plane analysis to assess cell viability. The conventional method of analyzing viability using a single focal plane can lead to inaccurate conclusions because light scattering and the alignment of cells at different heights in a counting chamber can change the appearance of cells — live cells may appear to be dead and vice versa. To determine whether cells are viable, the TC20 counter analyzes each cell using images acquired from multiple focal planes during the focusing step. Find out more about the advantages of multifocal plane analysis.

Minimize Your Sample Preparation

The broad concentration range of the TC20 automated cell counter eliminates the need to dilute cells prior to counting, reducing the errors associated with sample dilutions that may be necessary when counting cells by other methods. The counting algorithm discriminates and counts individual cells within clusters of up to five cells, providing accurate counts without the need to extensively declump cells prior to loading.

Specifications

Counting time, sec
30
Cell concentration range, cells/ml
5 x 104–1 x 107
Optimal cell concentration range, cells/ml
1 x 105–5 x 106
Cell diameter range, µm
6–50
Sample volume, µl
10
Data storage, counts
100
Data export
Via USB flash drive
Printer connectivity
Yes
Dilution calculator
Yes
Image of cells available
Yes
Dimensions (W x D x H), cm (in)
19 x 15 x 25.4 (7.5 x 6 x 10)
Weight without the external power supply, kg (lb)
2.2 (4.8)

Use

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Ordering

items

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Image
cell counting feature
1450102

120–240 V, includes instrument, power supply, USB flash drive, 30 dual-chamber counting slides (60 counts), 1.5 ml trypan blue

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145-0103
1450103

120–240 V, includes instrument, power supply, USB cable, USB flash drive, thermal label printer, 1 roll of 185 labels, 30 dual-chamber counting slides (60 counts), 1.5 ml trypan blue

Accessories

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1450003
30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (60 counts), includes 1.5 ml trypan blue, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450011
30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (60 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450015
5 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (300 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450016
10 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (600 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450017
20 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (1,200 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450018
30 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (1,800 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450019
40 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (2,400 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450020
80 x 30 slide pack of dual-chamber slides (4,800 counts), each slide can provide counts for 2 separate samples or dilutions, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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(Discontinued) Trypan Blue
1450021
5 x 1.5 ml, sufficient for 750 counts (10 µl/count), 0.4% in 0.81% sodium chloride and 0.06% potassium phosphate dibasic solution, sterile filtered, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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(Discontinued) Trypan Blue
1450022
10 x 1.5 ml, sufficient for 1,500 counts (10 µl/count), 0.4% in 0.81% sodium chloride and 0.06% potassium phosphate dibasic solution, sterile filtered, for use with TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter
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1450005

120–240 V, connects to the TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter, for printing results onto labels, includes thermal label printer, USB cable, 1 roll of 500 labels

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1450007

Pkg of 1 roll, 500 labels, for use with thermal label printer for printing results obtained with the TC10™ or TC20™ automated cell counter

Downloads

TC20™ Data Analyzer Software
SOFT-TC20-Data-Analyzer
TC20 data analyzer software, compatible with JPEG image files from the TC20 automated cell counter
TC20™ Automated Cell Counter Firmware
SOFT-TC20-FW

Firmware update for the TC20 cell counter, version 2.103

Documents

Number Description Options
10024423
Instruction Manual, TC20 Automated Cell Counter, Rev B
10024424
Quick Guide, TC20 Automated Cell Counter, Rev A
6283
TC20 Automated Cell Counter Brochure, Rev B
[ Add to Cart (Free) ]
6282
TC20 Automated Cell Counter Product Information Sheet, Rev A
10018213
TC20 and TC10 Validation Kit Instruction Guide
6003
Comparison of Count Reproducibility, Accuracy, and Time to Results between a Hemocytometer and the TC20 Automated Cell Counter
6087
Comparison between the TC10 Automated Cell Counter and the Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) Assay to Assess Cellular Toxicity in Vitro, Rev A
6152
Accurate Counting of Bio-Plex Magnetic or Polystyrene Beads Using the TC10 Automated Cell Counter, Rev A
6777
Protocol for Single Cell Gene Expression Profiling by Multiplex RT-qPCR
6340
A Comparison of the TC10™ Automated Cell Counter and the Hemocytometer for Quantifying Insect Hemocytes, Rev A
6853
Reliable Single-Cell Sorting with Bio-Rad's S3e™ Cell Sorter Application Note