Fully automated SignalStar™ Multiplex IHC protocol on the BOND RX by Leica Biosystems eliminates hands-on time for streamlined image generation and

Leica Biosystems is pleased to announce a collaboration with Cell Signaling Technology (CST), a life science discovery technology company and leading provider of antibodies, kits, and services, to enable faster, more streamlined spatial biology research on the BOND RX Fully Automated Research Stainer. The partnership significantly reduces hands-on time for scientists leveraging the SignalStar Multiplex IHC assays by enabling easy-to-use, automated BOND RX and BOND RX^m protocols to generate 8-plex multiplex IHC (mIHC) images in just two days.

Mid-plex antibody panels enable comprehensive analysis of complex tissue samples and are instrumental for observing colocalization patterns in solid-state tumor research. Above: SignalStar immunohistochemical analysis of paraffin-embedded human squamous cell lung carcinoma using PD-L1 (E1L3N®) & CO-0005-594 SignalStar™ Oligo-Antibody Pair #28249, as well as other SignalStar antibody pairs. Staining was performed on the BOND RX by Leica Biosystems. 

The SignalStar mIHC assay is a revolutionary tool for mid-plex spatial biology research that leverages highly validated and customizable, ready-to-go antibody panels and a proprietary technology to amplify antibody signal. With the SignalStar technology, researchers can easily interrogate tissue architecture and biomarker co-expression patterns for up to eight targets in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. The flexible antibody panel design allows targets to be switched out at any time, meaning researchers can easily adjust to changing experimental needs without the need to re-optimize or re-validate antibody panels. Together, the SignalStar technology and BOND RX deliver assay results 70% faster from sample to imaging than other mIHC methods.

“Through this partnership with Leica Biosystems, the powerful SignalStar assay is now more accessible to researchers—even those without a spatial biology background—helping to enable high-throughput multiplexing experiments in rapidly growing areas like immunology and neurology,” says Roberto (Roby) Polakiewicz, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at CST. “With other mIHC methods, antibody panels can take months to design and optimize and need to be reconfigured if and when experimental needs change. SignalStar now works on the BOND RX out-of-the-box, further reducing time to results, and the flexibility of antibody panel design allows researchers to easily update their assays as research evolves.”

The BOND RX staining platform lets researchers fully automate emerging technologies, customize all protocol segments, and put theories into action. The BOND Covertile protects tissue morphology and enables gentle and consistent reagent application. Together, the BOND Covertile and gentle nature of SignalStar protect samples and enable downstream analysis on the same tissue. Utilizing the BOND RX for multiplexing enables researchers to maximize the data achieved per sample.