Liquid Handling Platforms
Agilent Bravo
The Agilent Bravo automated platform provides 384-well liquid handling in a compact footprint. It contains nine plate-positions and is able to dispense between 100nL and 200µL, enabling automated liquid handling for a wide range of cell-based assays. With the additional stacking module, the Bravo is also capable of handling up to 60 plates for high throughput screening. Additionally, it can access a single column, row, or individual well using the standard 384-channel head. This gives the unique ability to perform compound plate hit-picks and serial dilutions simultaneously. The Bravo Platform is powered by Agilent VWorks Automation Control software, which allows integration of numerous modules, including plate stackers, barcode readers and tip washing station. The entire Bravo platform is enclosed in a Hepa-filtered, sterile environment, making it ideal for culturing of long-term 3D cellular assays.
BeckmanCoulter Biomek Fx
This instrument has a 384-disposable tip head, with a deck layout consisting of 12 plate positions, 5 tip box or liquid reservoir positions, along with a tip wash station. It also has a filtration device which can be added to the deck layout to enable filtration assays to be performed. It can be used as a stand-alone liquid handler, but is also linked to the Sami/Sagian work bench, which includes the Multiskan Ascent and Victor 3 plate readers. This automated system is therefore capable of processing up to three hundred and fifty 384-well plates in a single day.
BeckmanCoulter Multimek
The Multimek is a liquid-handling platform, consisting of a 384-well dispense head, an automated tip wash station, and four variable processing stations that can hold a variety of microtitre plates and/or reservoirs. The Multimek can aspirate and dispense a volume range of 1µL to 200µL and is designed for multi-step pipetting protocols, such as plate-to-plate compound transfers, multiple assay reagent additions for homogenous reactions, and mixing steps.
Packard MultiPROBE II EX
The MultiPROBE is a liquid handling workstation used for cherry picking and creating dilution plates for HTS campaigns. It is has four independent probes equipped with disposable tips and is capable of double aspirate and dispense commands throughout a dynamic volume range. The system has an integrated plate stacker and barcode reader and has the capacity to cherry pick from hundreds of plates a day. A liquid handler with the ability to cherry pick ‘hits’ from assays is an essential tool in any HTS environment and the MultiPROBE provides Discovery Biology with this valuable capability.
Packard Minitrak
The MiniTrak system provides Discovery Biology with a high throughput system for automated liquid handling. The MiniTrak offers a robust system for the ‘stamping’ of dilution and assay plates for HTS. The MiniTrak can aspirate volumes as low as 0.5µl from 384 well plates and dispense to multiple plates. It has an integrated wash station for handling large numbers of compounds and has the capacity to process over 200 plates a day or the equivalent of 100,000 compounds. The MiniTrak is a versatile and highly precise liquid handler that is an essential piece of equipment for high throughput screening in Discovery Biology.
SAGIAN and SAMI system
The SAGIAN system is a collection of numerous lab hardware, built specifically for high throughput screening, that is integrated with a software interface system, SAMI. The SAGIAN system in Discovery Biology comprises of two large decks, each with a robotic arm, bar code reader and carousel system for multiple plate storage and reading.
The carousels hold up to 180 384-well plates at any one time. On the first system, the arm is integrated with an Envision plate reader and a Trilux plate reader for multiple read capacities. This deck has the ability to be integrated with Multidrop liquid handlers that can add to either 96- or 384 well plates. On the second system, the arm is linked to a Wallac Victor II plate reader and Biomek FX liquid handling system. The Victor is capable of reading a number of differing assay end points. The Biomek is capable of adding multiple reagents with other liquid handling capabilities. This deck is also capable of being integrated with a Tecan plate washer and Multiskan Ascent absorbance plate reader.
The SAMI interface allows the user to define such parameters as the number of plates, timing of additions and combinations of equipment on one deck to complete the desired assay steps. The SAMI will schedule the input of equipment/ addition/ timings in to a protocol to allow the fastest turn around time for the task.
