Unlocking the Power of Picodroplets for Single-Cell Discovery

Explore new frontiers in antibody discovery and cell therapy

In the race to develop next-generation biologics, high-resolution single-cell analysis has become essential. This eBook brings together recent advances in picodroplet microfluidics—a technology that enables rapid, high-throughput screening of individual cells based on their functional output.

From therapeutic antibody discovery to functional CAR-T validation, these techniques are helping researchers isolate the rare cells that matter most—with more speed and accuracy than ever before.

What’s Inside the eBook?

This collection of expert perspectives and application notes highlights how picodroplet-based single-cell screening is transforming biopharma research, with practical examples across immunology, oncology, and protein engineering. The featured workflows show how encapsulating single cells in droplets enables fast, multiplexed assays, streamlining processes that once took weeks into a matter of hours.

Highlights from Sphere Bio: How to Rapidly Screen Primary B Cells

Spotlighting: Merck R&D + Sphere Bio

Therapeutic antibody discovery often starts with a bottleneck – screening millions of B cells to find the rare ones that produce the right antibody. In this article, Merck scientists demonstrate how Sphere Bio’s microfluidic picodroplet system enables ultra-fast, high-throughput screening of primary B cells based on both secretion and antigen specificity.

By isolating functional, antigen-binding B cells in a single step, this workflow offers a practical solution to the time and cost challenges of early-stage antibody discovery.

Featured Article: High-Throughput Functional Validation of CAR-T Cells

Tackling complexity in cell therapy R&D

As cell therapy continues to gain momentum, researchers are looking for faster ways to evaluate CAR-T function at the single-cell level. This article explores how picodroplet technology can be used to encapsulate and test engineered T cells – measuring secretion and surface markers in the same assay.

The result: functional validation of rare, high-performing CAR-T cells in high throughput, offering a new level of precision for developers working to fine-tune cell therapy candidates.

Conclusion

Together, these insights illustrate how microfluidic picodroplet technology is reshaping single-cell research, bridging speed and sensitivity in ways that were previously out of reach.

As demands grow for more nuanced cell analysis across antibody discovery and cell therapy, these scalable, high-resolution approaches are becoming essential tools.