TC10 Cell Counter from Bio-Rad

December 14, 2012

Overall

Performance

Ease-of-Optimization

What do these ratings mean?
Write a Review
University of Birmingham
School of Cancer Studies
Research Technician / PhD Student

Company:

Bio-Rad

Product Name:

TC10 Cell Counter

Catalog Number:

145-0010

TC10 Cell Counter from Bio-RadThe group I am part of uses a large number of lymphoid and epithelial cell lines as well as primary material from healthy donors and lymphoma patients. The number and variety of cell lines that we use, and the experiments we carry out, such as limiting dilution, proliferation and apoptosis assays, which are all critically dependent on accurate cell counts, necessitated a robust and intuitive cell counter. We looked into several machines including the Invitrogen Countess, the Millipore Scepter and the Nexcelom Cellometer. Although the Nexcelom instrument was the most flexible and has the best capability for data output including cell viability and imaging, the price and the need for an external computer to be linked to it, made it unrealistic for us. The handheld Millipore device is not guaranteed to detect some of the very small cells, such as primary B cells, which we routinely use. We found the Countess and TC-10 were very similar in their data output and intuitive interface, however the TC-10 won on the price of both the instrument and disposable slides (we got an extremely good deal from our rep).

Experimental Design and Results Summary

Application

Limiting dilution, proliferation and apoptosis assays.

Starting Material

B, NK and epithelial cell lines as well as various primary cells.

Protocol Overview

We were loaned a TC-10 instrument for 2 weeks to find out if it would suit our needs, and in that time we tested it on all of our B, NK and epithelial cell lines as well as various primary cells and compared it to our manual haemocytometer counts. We found it to be very reliable, even with very small cells, and you can use the cell size histogram function to assess the spread of cell sizes and whether the instrument has identified those cells as viable or not when using trypan blue. It is perfect for everyday cell culture requirements and is very simple to use. Just load 10µl cell suspension into the counting chamber and insert the slide, the counter will start automatically and gives a result within 30 seconds. When using trypan blue the counter automatically takes into account the 1:1 dilution. From the results screen you can view an image of the cells, use the built in dilution calculator, or view a histogram of cell sizes, and when using trypan blue, the spread of cell sizes versus viability.

Tips

Although you can get images of your cells from this instrument, they are not of great quality. It also does not save the images – you need to export them right away if you want them. Bio-Rad does supply a USB stick with this instrument for this purpose. Oh, and one final thing – it makes some odd clicking and buzzing noises, don’t worry, that is normal!

Results Summary

Initial results are displayed as cell count per ml and the percentage of viable cells if trypan blue has been used.

Features Summary

From the initial results screen you can access cell size distribution histograms, an image of the counted cells, the dilution counter and the option to print the count. The printer can be bought separately and prints the total counts on a small thermal roll, which is sticky backed so that the counts can be put straight into a lab book. We find it just as easy to write the results down so trialled a machine with a printer but did not choose to buy one. The internal memory can save the results of 100 counts, and will then begin to overwrite the oldest data. Exporting the data and images to a USB takes seconds and Bio-Rad provided us with a USB stick to go with the instrument. All counts are time and date stamped so finding an old result relies on the time and date being set correctly although we have only set the time and date once and have never had to reset it.

Additional Notes

Buying slides in bulk is cheaper and you will probably go through more than you imagine! The dilution range the instrument can handle is 5x104-1x107 per ml and the machine will give a warning message if your sample is too dilute or concentrated. However, I have never had a problem with trying to count outside that range. This machine also has by far the smallest footprint of all of the instruments we looked at – which was a big bonus for us as bench top space is very limited!

Image Gallery

Summary

The Good

It’s cheap and cheerful! The lowest priced cell counter on the market and counts accurately in seconds.

The Bad

The cost of disposable slides can mount up, and it has far fewer features and less flexibility of use than the Cellometer, but that is reflected in the pricing.

The Bottom Line

The Bottom Line: If you want a no-frills, reliable machine to alleviate hours of boring cell counting, with a tiny price tag then this is the one. If you want anything more complex then you will be disappointed.

Join the discussion