Forcyte Biotechnologies, Inc

our technology platform

FLECS: The first comprehensive mechanomics platform in the world

Technology

We’re accelerating the natural evolution
of phenotypic screening:

Our FLECS platform is transforming phenotypic screening and increasing clinical relevance through a better understanding of cellular function.

Invented
1960s
1990s
Today
Method

Flow cytometry

High-content imaging

FLECS
Visual
Measures

What cells consist of

What cells look like

What cells do

Medium

Written description

Photograph

Live action

Massively Parallel

Deep dive: We visualize, image, & precisely quantify cellular contractility

Our FLECS Platform combines a vastly micropatterned elastomer that isolates contractile function in single-cells with a microscopy + computer-vision process for precisely quantifying that contractile function.

FLECS Proprietary Technology:

Contracting Cell

As individual cells contract, the micropatterns “shrink” proportionally to cell force. Using computer vision, micropattern changes are computed to quantify contractile force for millions of cells at a time

384-well format

Natively automation-ready. Each well provides data on 100s of single-cells

Soft, Elastomeric Layer

The well bottom is coated with transparent, planar elastomeric film that is compliant under mechanic cell stress

Adhesive Micropattern

Large, customizable arrays of fluorescent, adhesive micropatterns are embedded into the film

Adhered Single-cell

Seeded cells self-assemble over individual micropatterns, spread, and impart contractile forces

Functional. Precise. Quantitative.

Deep dive: We visualize, image, & precisely quantify cellular contractility

With FLECS, each imaged micropattern contributes a unique single-cell contractility datapoint based on how much its displaced by a bound cell. Neighboring cells are mechanically insulated from one another ensuring that each of 100s or 1000s of responding cells experience identical micro-environments and contribute unbiased data.

FLECS Proprietary Technology:

Micropattern contracted by force-generating cell

Intuitive functional cell contraction measurement you can see

Micropattern without cell

Micropattern doesn’t change unless acted on by a cell. Neighboring micropatterns are mechanically decoupled.

Fully Automated & Scalable

Platform

The FLECS platform measures contractile cell function at scale

Using lab automation and computer vision we’re able to screen drug libraries and RNAi/CRISPR libraries of any size in a cost- & time-effective manner. We’ve already run > 2M experiments – by far the most ever in a contractile function screen.


And we’re just getting started.

Build FLECS assay plates in-house using proprietary processes

Use powerful lab robotics to automate screening processes end-to-end

Use proprietary computer-vision to extract functional data directly linked to relevant disease pathophysiology

Integrated Platfom for Mechanomics

Solution

We’re building a new bio platform that measures mechanical cell function at scale to make better drugs, faster

Establish Disease State

We start by establishing a diseased contractile state in primary human cells that we can screen against

Add to Our Mechanomic Database

We add the new omics scale, functional single-cell data into our growing proprietary inter-operable mechanomics data set, enabling new insights into biology

Introduce Perturbation

We perturb the cells by introducing molecules or modifying gene expression in high-throughput (up to 30k tests per week)

Visualize & Image Cell Mechano-function

Our wet-lab FLECS Platform uniformly directs cell behavior, removes inter-cell variability, and isolates mechanical function in millions of cells

Transform Images into Quantitative Data

We use computer vision to transform complex visual data in our image sets into high-res quantitative readouts of cell mechanical function at scale

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