Agilent launches NovoStation to automate flow-cytometry sample preparation

Agilent announced NovoStation on 1 October 2026 and maintains a current product page with a Request Quote workflow. The system sits in Agilent's Research Flow Cytometry portfolio and can run standalone or integrate with compatible NovoCyte flow cytometers. It automates reagent cocktailing, staining, washing, lysis, fixation and permeabilization, and supports 96-well workflows, barcoding, event logging, cooling and role-based permissions. CFCM EXPLAINER — MOVING STANDARDISATION UPSTREAM Manual cocktailing + staining + washing → NovoStation automated preparation → compatible NovoCyte acquisition → NovoExpress analysis. Source/credit: CFCM schematic based on Agilent primary product information, checked 2 October 2026. Alt text: workflow showing automated sample preparation before flow-cytometry acquisition and analysis. Agilent reports that internal validation reduced hands-on time by more than 90% while maintaining data quality comparable with manual preparation. Its examples include 7.9 versus 85.5 minutes of operator time for a 30-sample, 25-color immunophenotyping workflow and 6.8 versus 89.4 minutes for a kappa/lambda light-chain workflow.

The time-saving and comparability results are manufacturer-generated validation/application data, not independent multicentre clinical validation. The cited launch release and product page do not establish CE-IVD or FDA diagnostic authorization for NovoStation, so CFCM does not infer an IVD status. Automation may reduce operator-dependent variation, but local assay validation must still address specimen handling, reagent lots, staining performance, carryover, timing, wash efficiency and downstream acquisition/analysis.

Sample preparation is a major source of pre-analytical variation in flow cytometry. NovoStation therefore matters as more than a labour-saving device: it is another move toward integrated sample-to-answer architecture. The key question for clinical-flow laboratories will be whether automated preparation produces reproducible staining and acceptable analytical performance across operators, days, lots, instruments and sites.