COPAS FP

COPAS Accessory Modules

A variety of optional modules are available to add specific enhanced capabilities to your COPAS FP system including choices of lasers, larger sample cups and an auto-sampler.

Laser Choices

COPAS FP can accommodate up to three excitation lasers. The 488nm is standard with many customers also adding a 405nm, 561nm or 640nm. Please inquire if your research requires a different excitation wavelength. Customers who may want to add a laser at a later time should be aware that the optics for these lasers can not be retro-fitted in the field. A factory alignment procedure is required unless “Laser Ready Optics” have been ordered with the initial purchase. The two best choices are to either order (A) the complete laser + optics with the initial system, or to at least add the (B) “Laser Ready Optics” as part of the initial factory build.

Sample Cups

Bulk samples are introduced via a standard 50 ml conical tube (40 ml working volume) with suspended stirrer. For larger samples optional 750 ml and 1500 ml stirred sample cups are available. 

Rotating Sample Chamber

The Rotating Sample Introduction Chamber for COPAS FP gently agitates samples without using mechanical stirring. Both 5 mL and 10 mL sample chambers are included. Use on a COPAS FP instrument with either a 250 or 500 µm configuration.  The Rotating Sample Chamber is designed specifically for

  • handling extremely delicate samples (adipocytes, plant protoplasts, etc.)
  • samples that tend to either float or sink in a sample cup with normal stirring-type agitation. Chamber can be used with 250 & 500 micron flow cells

Typical use with a mouse adipocyte preparation enables analyzing 100 objects/second and dispensing intact adipocytes constituting 10% of the preparation.

Rotating sample cup for fragile samples and samples that float or sink

LP Sampler™ (Large Particle Sampler)

The LP Sampler is the only automated sample introduction system designed specifically for gentle handling of large, fragile objects such as

  • delicate cells/clusters (stem cell clusters, neurospheres, tumor spheroids)
  • viable small multicellular model organisms (nematodes, Drosophila, zebrafish larvae)
  • beads used as micro-carriers for clonal libraries
  • seeds and fragile plant tissue

This autosampler is ideal for objects ranging from 10 to 1500 microns in diameter. It is capable of gently aspirating those samples from multiwell plates or a petri dish and delivering them intact to Union Biometrica’s COPAS FP™, BioSorter®, COPAS VISIONor VAST BioImager™ systems. It has the flexibility to handle a variety of standard or deep well plates including 24, 96 and 384.