MaxCyte's History

MaxCyte was founded in 1999 to commercialize flow electroporation technology exclusively from the CBR Institute for Biomedical Research. The technology was intended for clinical use, and the application that had been proposed when the technology was first acquired involved loading 1 liter of autologous red blood cell suspension with an alternative hemoglobin oxygen modulator to yield a therapy for ischemic disorders. MaxCyte set out to pursue the red blood cell application and to investigate use of the technology for loading a wide range of biologically active molecules into many types of cells. The system has been significantly refined and many applications explored, but the original plan, to develop a system primarily intended for clinical use in a near patient setting, has been the guiding principle.

MaxCyte Facilities and Resources

MaxCyte occupies a 14,000 sq ft facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland. More than 50% of the facility is dedicated to research and development. The molecular/cell biology laboratory is equipped with general laboratory equipment, including Q-PCR and PCR instruments, spectrophotometer, pH meter, fluorescent microscopes, water baths, bench top centrifuges, -20°C and -80°C freezers and MaxCyte proprietary systems. There are separate tissue culture rooms with large tissue culture hoods, CO2 incubators and all other general equipment for tissue culture. In addition we have a WAVE bioreactor system with a capacity to culture of suspension cells. Other general lab equipment includes Becton Dickinson FACS Calibur flow cytometers, a liquid nitrogen storage system, high speed centrifuges, bacterial culture incubators, glass washer and autoclave, dark room, and a multi-well plate readers. MaxCyte engineers occupy a space where they design, develop, assemble and manufacture the electroporation instrumentation and cell processing chambers.