Integrating the Compresstome® Vibrating Microtome into the Agilent Seahorse XF Flex Tissue Workflow
ASHLAND, Mass., June 3, 2025 — Precisionary Instruments today announced a strategic partnership with Agilent to enhance the preparation of live tissue slices for use with the Agilent Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer and 3D Capture Microplate. This collaboration integrates Precisionary’s Compresstome® VF-510-0Z vibrating microtome into Agilent’s Seahorse XF Flex platform for real-time live tissue metabolic analysis, providing researchers with a validated method for generating consistent, high-quality precision-cut slices for ex vivo tissue studies.
The Importance of Reliable Tissue Preparation
As the use of 3D tissue models—including organoids, explants, and acute brain slices—continues to expand in translational research, reliable upstream sample preparation has become absolutely essential. The Compresstome vibratome produces uniform tissue slices with minimal cellular distortion, which is crucial for accurate Agilent Seahorse XF Flex assay measurements:
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Oxygen Consumption Rate (OCR): Accurately measuring mitochondrial respiration.
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Extracellular Acidification Rate (ECAR): Accurately measuring glycolysis.
These metabolic metrics are highly sensitive to tissue integrity, making precision tissue sectioning a critical first step in successful assay performance.
Industry Leaders on the Partnership
“Live tissue analysis is a growing area in metabolic and therapeutic discovery. By pairing our Compresstome vibratome with Agilent’s Seahorse XF Flex platform, scientists now have a streamlined and reproducible workflow for studying energy metabolism in intact tissue samples. This integration supports the development of more physiologically relevant models across neuroscience, liver disease, oncology, and more.” — Dr. Abigail Chu, Chief Scientific Officer at Precisionary Instruments
“Agilent Seahorse XF technology is the gold standard for assessing mitochondrial function and glycolysis in live cells. The new XF Flex instrument expands this capability to 3D models like tissue samples, organoids, spheroids, and model organisms. With Compresstome, we have optimized the XF Flex 3D tissue workflow using rat liver and brain tissue slices. Compresstome is easy to set up and generates consistent, viable XF Flex tissue metabolic assay samples. Precisionary’s support, including training videos and tissue sectioning protocols, has been invaluable in developing successful tissue workflows with the Agilent Seahorse XF Flex Analyzer.” — Alice Gao, PhD, Senior Product Manager, Cellular and Biomolecular Analysis Division at Agilent
Proven Results in Metabolic Data
Recent Agilent applications and technical notes have highlighted how acute brain slices and liver samples prepared using the Compresstome VF-510-0Z vibratome delivered reproducible, high-quality metabolic data. These precision-cut slices maintained both excellent tissue viability and the exact geometric fit required for the Agilent Seahorse XF Flex 3D Capture Microplates, drastically reducing signal variability and improving overall assay sensitivity.
Empowering Translational Research
This partnership underscores the importance of integrating high-performance tissue slicing tools with Agilent Seahorse XF Flex cell metabolism platforms. The combined solution supports cutting-edge research in disease modeling, drug screening, and biomarker discovery by enabling scientists to consistently generate healthy, reproducible tissue slices. Precisionary’s vibrating microtome technology ensures upstream consistency in tissue preparation—the necessary foundation for downstream Agilent Seahorse XF Flex success.
About Precisionary Instruments
Precisionary Instruments designs and manufactures advanced tissue slicers, including the Compresstome® series of vibrating microtomes. These vibratomes are used globally for neuroscience, oncology, pulmonary, and metabolic research, especially in studies requiring acute brain slices and precision-cut tissues. The company supports innovation, reproducibility, and translational science through robust tissue sectioning solutions. Learn more at www.precisionary.com.
Contact Information
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Email: [email protected]
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Phone: (617) 682-0586
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Website: www.precisionary.com