Emeryville, Calif. — Bruker Corporation (Nasdaq: BRKR) is set to unveil its latest innovation, the Beacon Discovery™ Optofluidic System, at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting. Designed to expand access to live single-cell functional analysis, the compact benchtop system offers a lower cost of ownership and is aimed at increasing accessibility for academic and biotech researchers.
The Beacon Discovery system builds upon Bruker’s proprietary Opto-Electrical Positioning (OEP) technology and scalable OptoSelect™ microfluidic chips, which are central to its existing premium Beacon® platforms. These systems enable precise isolation, manipulation, and analysis of single cells within Nanopens through machine learning-driven automation and OEP technology. This approach allows researchers to perform multi-parameter, long-term functional analyses—spanning days or weeks—combining live-cell imaging with sequential assays. Cells can then be recovered for downstream genomic or transcriptomic analysis, offering a rare connection between live functional data and sequencing results from the same individual cell.
While Bruker’s larger, higher-throughput Beacon systems serve pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs) with automated processes for antibody discovery and cell line development, the new Beacon Discovery system is tailored for smaller labs. With an intuitive user interface and customizable workflows, the single-chip platform is designed for translational research in academic and biotech settings.
By significantly reducing both initial investment and running costs, Beacon Discovery makes high-end single-cell functional analysis more accessible for core labs and researchers exploring areas such as immuno-oncology, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, regenerative medicine, antibody and T cell receptor (TCR) discovery, and cell therapy development.
Dr. Joseph Zenga, Associate Professor and Division Chief at the Medical College of Wisconsin and an early-access user of the platform, praised its impact on cancer immunotherapy research. “Having used the Beacon platform for years, we’ve seen how it transforms TCR discovery,” Zenga said. “Its automated workflows and multi-parameter temporal analysis allow precise characterization of tumor antigen-specific T cells, accelerating identification of potent therapeutic candidates. With Beacon Discovery, this powerful technology is now within reach for many more labs.”
Vikram Devgan, Ph.D., Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Management for Bruker Cellular Analysis, emphasized the platform’s potential to reshape research workflows. “Beacon Discovery is redefining live single-cell functional analysis, as evidenced by numerous Beacon-based publications in leading journals,” Devgan said. “With a much lower entry price and enhanced ease of use, we are breaking down barriers and setting new standards in single-cell characterization. This platform empowers researchers in pharma, biotech, and academia to accelerate development of novel B and T cell therapies and advance biomarker discovery.”
The launch of Beacon Discovery at AACR 2025 underscores Bruker’s commitment to making advanced cellular analysis technologies more accessible and scalable across a broader research community.
