The newest lab automation tools and technologies allow scientists to accomplish more with less resources.
By Mike MayToday's scientists want more data at reduced costs. "For automation in general and integrated systems in particular, there is a desire to do more with less budget," says Kevin Keras, business unit manager for Automation, Consulting, Engineering & Services (ACES) at
Caliper Life Sciences, Hopkinton, Mass. "That often leads to a desire to repurpose existing automation assets, which is why we launched our new Reprise Integrated systems offering last year." He adds, "Economic conditions are forcing many labs to ‘go green' and re-use what they have." In addition, today's automation must be easy to use.
Even simple techniques, like pipetting, benefit from automation. Scientists can improve pipetting accuracy with the epMotion 5075 TMX from
Eppendorf North America, Westbury, N.Y. "The epMotion was designed so we can install and train lab personnel in under one day," says Vincent R. Prezioso, PhD, director of marketing at Eppendorf. This instrument also includes a mixer that generates vortex-like action. So the epMotion can mix solutions and pellets in single tubes, as well as 96- and 384-well plates.
Instant Pipetting from
Tecan, Männedorf, Switzerland, lets a researcher automate pipetting with what Wendy Lauber, director of product management, biopharma, calls "zero programming knowledge." She says, "A researcher can use the touch monitor in conjunction with TouchTools Suite software. The software guides the user through simple pipetting actions allowing the user to interactively pipette in real-time." The system can even be monitored remotely from any mobile device, including an iPhone. "You can see if the instrument is running or if there is an error message," says Lauber.
Enhanced Handling
Getting samples ready for analysis often requires filtering. Some situations even require combination filters, such as the Millex HPF syringe filters from
Millipore, Billerica, Mass., which contain two prefilters that remove larger particles and then a standard membrane filter. "These will handle solutions that are high in particulates—or viscous, like serum or protein solutions," says Rebecca Duguid, senior product manager at Millipore. "The prefilters remove a lot of the particulate load before the filtration step." Moreover, these filters can work in manual or automated systems.
Automated liquid handling can also simplify record keeping. For example, the TADM (total aspiration and dispense monitoring) feature on the
Hamilton Robotics, Reno, Nev., MICROLAB STAR and STARlet liquid handling workstations confirms and documents what goes on in every microplate well. "Each liquid channel has a pressure sensor built in that monitors ambient pressure and pressure change," explains Rick Luedke, product manager at Hamilton Robotics. "This TADM software provides well-by-well documentation, which is critical in a regulated environment," says Luedke.
For a more compact and economical solution, Hamilton Robotics recently introduced the MICROLAB Nimbus platform, an automated 96-channel pipetting workstation that fits on the benchtop.
To help scientists conserve bench space, some companies combine instruments.
BioTek Instruments, Winooski, Vt., has made microplate washers for some time. "Customers usually have a dispenser beside a washer, so we combined the two technologies in our EL406 Combination Washer Dispenser," says Jason Greene, BioTek's marketing product manager. This product handles up to 1,536-well microplates and includes three dispensers—one peristaltic and two syringe-based ones. Moreover, it can be used in a standalone or automated system, using a rotatable-wrist plate stacker that makes the system more versatile.
Other companies also aim at versatility. Gwen Rohan, head of technical services at
Titertek Instruments, Huntsville, Ala., says, "Our Zoom line of compact washers and dispensers are so versatile that they can be used in a wide variety of microplate applications such as ELISA assays, cell-based assays, microbead-based assays, and proteomics research." She adds, "The Zoom Filter Plate Washer even wipes the plate bottom following an extraction to prevent harsh chemicals from dripping on the stacker as plates are shuttled into a plate magazine."
In addition to versatility, liquid handlers must be easy to use, like the Zephyr GW from Caliper Life Sciences. "An inexperienced user can set up a method and run it without knowing how to program a liquid handler," says Isaac Meek, genomics marketing manager at Caliper Life Sciences. Pre-programmed methods for specific nucleic acid–extraction kits and reaction-setup protocols, coupled with drop-down menus and a point-and-click interface guide users. In addition, this liquid handler helps conserve reagents by allowing users to process samples in multiples of eight.
Automation also increases the need for rapid access to stored samples. "Today, the emphasis is leaning toward the quality of the stored samples," says Chris Walsh, product manager at
RTS Life Science, Manchester, UK. RTS makes automated storage solutions for anything from an academic lab to a large pharmaceutical company. Beyond keeping these samples under the desired environmental conditions and picking them as requested, RTS has technology that can measure the volume of samples. "Our system also allows you to detect precipitate," says Walsh. "So if the sample is coming out of solution you can identify this, which has major benefits for downstream screening operations."
Many clinical samples get stored in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) techniques, where extracted nucleic acids are often degraded. To facilitate research into this vast genetic repository,
Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, Calif., in collaboration
NuGEN Technologies, San Carlos, Calif., and
Agencourt Bioscience (a Beckman Coulter company located in Beverly, Mass.), introduced the ArrayPLEX NuGEN WT-Ovation FFPE Target Preparation Application on the Biomek FXp Workstation. Starting with FFPE samples, this system automatically isolates, purifies, amplifies, and labels the RNA.
Collecting the Results
When gathering data from microplates, scientists want instruments that can work with as many assays as possible without compromising sensitivity. That's why
BMG LABTECH, Offenburg, Germany, developed its high throughput screening (HTS) instrument, the PHERAstar FS. "The FS works with 1,536-well plates in eight different detection modes and measures attomole to femtomole concentrations," says E.J. Dell, PhD, business and applications development scientist at BMG LABTECH. In addition, this instrument uses BMG's Tandem Technology, which allows absorbance and fluorescent measurements. "You can also simultaneously inject while reading from either the top or bottom of the plate. This is needed when studying cell-based assays, such as calcium flux or ion channels that happen extremely fast," says Dell.
The range of HTS instruments is also increasing. For example, the FDSS instruments from
Hamamatsu, Bridgewater, N.J., can move a prepared sample through an assay and collect data. In the past, such instruments usually existed only in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, but a growing number of academic labs also use such machines. "More and more universities are getting into screening," says Shouming Du, PhD, Hamamatsu's product manager. This technology can run a range of assays, such as calcium immobilization, membrane potential, ion influx, and Aequorin or luciferase assays. "The CCD camera reads the whole plate—96-, 384-, or 1,536-wells—all at once," says Du.
Other companies also develop multimode instruments. The EnSpire, a quad monochromator-based detection platform from
PerkinElmer, Waltham, Mass., for example, provides both absorbance and fluorescence-intensity detection. Within the EnSpire product family, additional models are also available to meet the needs of ELISA and AlphaLISA technologies. In addition, these detection platforms were designed to easily integrate with many of the industry's automated liquid-handling instruments, including the JANUS Automated Workstation from PerkinElmer, says Nance Hall, vice president and general manager of automation and detection solutions. She adds, "The EnSpire is able to address the application needs of academic and pharmaceutical labs alike."
Modern labs require a variety of ways to collect data. "For the past 8 to 10 years, the MDS Pharma Services bioanalysis organization has been following a strategy of implementing electronic laboratory documentation tools to assist with the management of data," says Chad Briscoe, director of bioanalysis,
MDS Pharma Services, Lincoln, Neb. For example, he points out the recent "implementation of the Labnotes electronic laboratory notebook system at our LCMS and ligand-binding operations." He adds, "Labnotes will allow us to significantly reduce the bottleneck of data review, quality control, and quality assurance by building quality control into the documentation processes and thus eliminating the need for data double check at the end of the study."
To keep automation affordable, researchers also want instruments that can accommodate the unknown applications ahead. "Any automation system needs to provide enough flexibility for future applications or multiple applications," says Phil Farrelly, MBA, president of
Hudson Control Group, Springfield, N.J. For example, Farrelly says Hudson's new VaryScreen I automated assay screening system enables researchers to easily switch from one assay method to another. SoftLinx, Hudson's system-scheduling software, makes it possible for VaryScreen to perform multiple screens. "Everything you do with this software is like building a flowchart," says Alan H. Katz, PhD, Hudson Control's chief scientific officer. "It also comes with a wide range of protocols already available as options in the software, and can be custom programmed." Moreover, SoftLinx allows researchers to start a new run on the same system, even while another assay is already running.
As automation keeps getting easier, it will show up in more and more labs.