Lumito’s technology addresses challenges in several application areas, which can be divided into three main groups:
In these areas, existing methods for tissue analysis have gaps in relation to sensitivity and precise quantification, gaps that are bridged with the Lumito SCIZYS system. The SCIZYS system thus allows for a higher degree of objectivity in judgments and decision-making.
* Lumito’s platform is not approved for clinical use and assessment of patient results for diagnostic purposes is not an approved application.
UCNPs provide a unique optical advantage. When excited with near‑infrared (NIR) light, UCNPs emit higher‑energy photons. This property results in autofluorescence‑free imaging, enabling the detection of weak biomarker signals that typically disappear in background noise when using other methods.
Key technological benefits highlighted in the white paper include:
These properties create a robust platform for biomarker quantification, even in challenging low‑expression contexts.
In an asthma model, H&E staining made eosinophils in lung tissue difficult to visualise, and even DAB staining gave weak contrast.
This example shows how our UCNP technology can be used for dual biomarker/morphology studies and to improve rare cell detection where standard IHC methods struggle.
This study, a collaborative effort between Lumito and Atlas Antibodies, demonstrates that a simplified direct immunolabelling workflow using Lumito’s SCIZYS system matches the quantitative performance of traditional indirect methods while significantly reducing assay complexity.
Traditional indirect immunohistochemistry (IHC) relies on a two-step process where a secondary antibody amplifies the signal but adds processing time and risks non-specific background staining.
In contrast, direct labelling eliminates the secondary antibody step by using a primary antibody directly conjugated to the detection tag. While concerns about reduced sensitivity have historically limited adoption of direct labelling, Lumito’s technology effectively overcomes this hurdle.
The cornerstone of this study is Lumito’s SCIZYS platform, consisting of the SCIZYS Erbium-SA reagent kit and the SCIZYS S1 whole-slide scanner.
By utilizing upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) excited in the near-infrared (NIR) region, the system completely eliminates tissue autofluorescence. This enables an exceptionally high signal-to-background ratio, allowing even the single-step direct method to achieve superb sensitivity.
As shown in the middle figure to the right, the tissue staining patterns, such as PR in pancreatic islets (A, B), MSH2 in tonsil (C, D), and MSH6 in testis (E, F), are highly comparable between the two techniques. While the indirect method delivers higher raw signal intensity due to secondary antibody amplification, the direct method matches its spatial precision with lower non-specific background.
To confirm that the simplified direct workflow does not compromise data integrity, digital whole-slide images were automatically segmented and analyzed for number of positive cells.
A Bland-Altman analysis demonstrates excellent statistical agreement between the direct and indirect measurements across various tissue types, yielding a low average sigma of 10.4%. Furthermore, the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC = 0.89) confirms a strong, robust agreement between the two methods.
By using Lumito’s SCIZYS platform to eliminate autofluorescence, researchers can confidently adopt a faster, one-step direct immunolabelling approach without sacrificing quantitative reliability.
The Lumito SCIZYS system is an open platform for immunohistochemistry (IHC). The SCIZYS UCNPs can be attached to any biotinylated molecule and the system is agnostic to tissue type, enabling a wide range of uses. We are co-developing application areas together with our customers and partners. Areas with significant interest and potential include:
Lumito is currently running a project to demonstrate applications of the SCIZYS technology with support from Region Skåne and EU. The projects aims at strengthening the Lumito presence at scientific congresses and conferences, but also to to create application notes to show-case the Lumito technology as a tool in R&D.
The project has a budget of 500 kSEK and is partially financed by the European Union by a contribution through Region Skåne of 250 kSEK.
