Slingshot Bio Launches ViaComp® Ultra Amine: A Next-Generation Cell Mimic for Amine-Reactive Viability and Antibody Compensation in Multiparameter Flow Cytometry

Purpose-engineered cell-like controls deliver improved positive/negative separation, broad species compatibility, and a liquid, non-biohazardous ready-to-use format

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Aug. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Slingshot Bio, Inc., a leader in precision cell mimic controls for flow cytometry, today announced the commercial launch of ViaComp® Ultra Amine, a next-generation compensation control designed for amine-reactive viability dyes and fluorophore-conjugated antibody panels in spectral and conventional multiparameter flow cytometry workflows.

About ViaComp® Ultra Amine

ViaComp® Ultra Amine compensation controls are precision-engineered cell mimics designed to support spectral unmixing and compensation across complex, multiparameter flow cytometry workflows. The control simultaneously captures amine-reactive viability dyes and fluorophore-conjugated antibodies from multiple host species — including mouse, rat, hamster, rabbit, and human — in a single, unified reagent.

Each vial contains a pre-mixed suspension of positive and negative control particles that generate clear, well-separated peaks with the fluorescence spectrum of the dye or fluorophore being tested. The ready-to-use dropper format helps eliminate the variability, fragility, and time-consuming preparation requirements associated with traditional cell-based compensation controls.

"ViaComp® Ultra Amine represents a meaningful advancement in how flow cytometry labs approach viability and compensation controls. By combining amine-reactive viability dye capture with multi-species antibody capture in a single liquid, non-biohazardous reagent, we're removing a major source of assay variability and simplifying the compensation workflow significantly."

— Slingshot Bio Scientific Team

Background & Industry Context

Flow cytometry controls are critical at every stage of assay development — from instrument setup and panel optimization through to established assays and inter-site harmonization. Yet traditional biological controls such as cell lines, donor-derived PBMCs, and polystyrene beads present ongoing challenges including lot-to-lot variability, resource-intensive maintenance, limited availability for rare biomarkers, and regulatory burden.

Slingshot Bio's cell mimic platform addresses these challenges by combining the biological relevance of cell-based controls with the precision, reproducibility, and scalability of semiconductor manufacturing. The company's growing portfolio — including SpectraComp®, ViaComp®, FlowCytes®, PhenoCytes™, and ScatterBridge® — now spans instrument standardization, compensation, cell health analysis, biomarker controls, and cross-site harmonization.

Key Product Benefits

• Single control for full-panel compensation workflows
• Compatible with amine-reactive viability dyes and fluorophore-conjugated antibodies
• Captures mouse, rat, hamster, rabbit, and human antibody host species
• Cell-like scatter and autofluorescence profiles
• Improved positive/negative separation compared with legacy ViaComp
• Liquid, non-biohazardous format with 2–8°C storage
• Ready-to-use dropper format — no preparation required

"In our hands, ViaComp® Ultra Amine performed consistently across a 36-color spectral panel run on multiple instruments, providing the reproducibility and panel flexibility we need for cross-site harmonization studies."

— Field Application Science Team, Slingshot Bio

Availability

ViaComp® Ultra Amine is now available through Slingshot Bio's commercial catalog as part of the ViaComp® Ultra product line, alongside ViaComp® Ultra DNA. The product is manufactured under ISO 9001 quality management standards and is intended for research use only.

Slingshot Bio showcased ViaComp® Ultra Amine and its broader cell mimic platform at CYTO 2026 in a commercial tutorial titled "Cell Mimics as Cross-Platform Controls: Advancing Compensation, Viability, and Biomarker-Specific Assays in a 36-Color Spectral Panel Across Multiple Instruments," presented by Sarah Kotanchiyev (Field Application Scientist, Manager) and Claude Chew (Flow Cytometry Specialist II, BCM Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core Facility).

About Slingshot Bio

Slingshot Bio, Inc. is a Emeryville, California-based life science company pioneering the development of cell mimic controls for flow cytometry. The company's patented platform combines advanced semiconductor manufacturing precision with biologically relevant particle design to deliver reproducible, scalable, and customizable controls across all stages of flow cytometry workflows. Slingshot Bio's portfolio includes SpectraComp®, ViaComp®, FlowCytes®, PhenoCytes™, ScatterBridge®, QuantCytes™, and Custom TruCytes®.

Contact Joshua Haydon +1 510 770 6806 [email protected] www.slingshotbio.com