Multi Channel Systems MCS GmbH

Multi Channel Systems MCS GmbH (commonly abbreviated MCS) is a German life-science instrumentation company that designs and manufactures hardware and software for electrophysiology research. Its product portfolio centres on microelectrode array (MEA) technology, which allows scientists to record and stimulate the electrical activity of cells and tissue at many sites simultaneously. The company serves academic neuroscience, cardiac safety pharmacology, stem-cell and organoid research, and related fields, and it markets its systems worldwide under the tagline "Innovations in Electrophysiology". MCS offers both in vitro and in vivo platforms. The in vitro line includes the MEA2100 family, the Multiwell-MEA system for higher-throughput screening, the CMOS-MEA5000 system with more than 4,000 recording sites on a single chip, and newer products such as the Incub8 multiwell MEA system, the AcadeMEA entry-level system, the ALI MEA air-liquid interface array, and the Mesh MEA, a flexible 60-electrode polyimide mesh that lets cells grow around the electrodes. The in vivo line includes the tethered ME2100 system for anesthetized or head-fixed animals and the W2100 wireless system for freely moving animals, both built around low-noise headstages with on-board amplification and digitisation. A shared IFB-C interface board allows different headstages and receivers to be combined, so laboratories can mix in vitro and in vivo experiments on one platform. The company is based in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and sells through a direct and distributor network. It also partners with other technology providers; for example, it has collaborated with Foresee Biosystems to offer IntraCell, a laser-based optoporation system that works with MCS MEA systems to capture intracellular action potentials from cardiac monolayers and organoids. MCS publishes product news and a newsletter and exhibits at scientific conferences. It is a privately held company and is not listed on a stock exchange.

Multi Channel Systems MCS GmbH was founded in Germany and established itself as a specialist supplier of microelectrode array (MEA) and multichannel data-acquisition technology for electrophysiology. The company is based in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, a region known for medical and life-science instrumentation. Over the years MCS built a product family around its MEA technology, beginning with in vitro systems that record from cultured cells and tissue slices on planar electrode arrays, and later extending into in vivo tethered and wireless recording systems for animal experiments. A key architectural idea in the MCS product line is the separation of the low-noise headstage from the interface board. Headstages carry amplification and analogue-to-digital conversion close to the biological sample, which improves signal quality. The IFB-C multiboot interface board, introduced as a newer generation, can accept data from multiple headstage types — MEA2100(-Mini), Multiwell-MEA, CMOS-MEA5000, MEA2100-Beta-Screen, ME2100 and the W2100 receiver — allowing laboratories to combine in vitro and in vivo experiments on a single acquisition platform. This modularity has been a recurring theme in MCS marketing and product development. The in vitro portfolio grew from single-well MEA systems to higher-throughput multiwell formats. The CMOS-MEA5000 system, based on complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology, offers more than 4,000 recording sites on one chip, each sampled at 25 kHz, for very high spatio-temporal resolution. The Multiwell-MEA system targets screening applications. More recent additions include the Incub8 multiwell MEA system, which records from inside a humidified CO2 incubator and combines optical and electrophysiological data; the AcadeMEA entry-level system; the ALI MEA air-liquid interface array; and the Mesh MEA, a 60-electrode, 7 µm-thin polyimide mesh designed to let cells grow around the electrodes for recordings from inside organoids. On the in vivo side, the ME2100-System is a tethered setup for anesthetized or head-fixed animals, supporting up to eight 32-channel headstages with integrated stimulation and optogenetic output. The Wireless-Systems (W2100) transmit digitised data from a small headstage to a receiver, supporting 4 to 32 channels for spikes, LFP, EEG, ECG and ECoG in freely moving animals. MCS has also partnered with other companies; notably, it collaborated with Foresee Biosystems to offer IntraCell, a laser-based optoporation system that works with MCS MEA systems for intracellular recordings from cardiac monolayers and organoids. The company continues to publish product news and a newsletter and to exhibit at scientific conferences.

• MCS newsletter highlights organoid research breakthroughs and publications.

Premium scientific instrumentation for high-resolution, low-noise electrophysiology, spanning in vitro MEA screening and in vivo recording.

• MEA2100-System

  In vitro MEA system for extracellular recording and stimulation from 60, 120 or 256 electrodes.

• Multiwell-MEA-System

  Higher-throughput multiwell MEA system for screening applications.

• CMOS-MEA5000-System

  In vitro recording system with more than 4,000 recording sites on a CMOS chip, each sampled at 25 kHz.

• ME2100-System

  Tethered in vivo recording system for anesthetized/head-fixed animals, supporting up to eight 32-channel headstages.

• Wireless-Systems (W2100)

  Wireless in vivo system for 4, 8, 16 or 32 channels with on-headstage digitisation.

• Incub8 Multiwell MEA System

  Multiwell MEA system that records from inside a humidified CO2 incubator and combines optical and electrophysiological data.

• Mesh MEA

  60-electrode, 7 µm-thin polyimide mesh MEA that enables cells to grow around the electrodes for recordings from inside organoids.

• AcadeMEA

  Entry-level MEA system designed to make electrophysiology more accessible.

• ALI MEA

  Air-liquid interface microelectrode array.

• IntraCell

  Laser-based optoporation system from Foresee Biosystems that works with MCS MEA systems for intracellular action potential recordings.

1. 1Multi Channel Systems MCS GmbH official websitemultichannelsystems.com
2. 2ME2100-Systems product pagemultichannelsystems.com
3. 3Wireless-Systems product pagemultichannelsystems.com
4. 4CMOS-MEA5000-System product pagemultichannelsystems.com
5. 5Wikidata entry for Multi Channel Systems MCS GmbHwikidata.org