Agilent Automation Solutions, formerly Velocity11, has released an applications bulletin (http://www.chem.agilent.com/Library/applications/5990-3621en_lo20cms.pdf) that describes a new automated system for compound plate storage and replication.
In compound plate storage and replication, sample integrity and inventory management are the keys to success. Agilent Automation Solutions designed this BioCel System to link directly into Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) for receiving and delivering inventory information as well as keeping the BioCel database and sample inventory synchronised and up-to-date. Flexibility in plate format and liquid handling options allow the simultaneous use of 384- and 1536-well plates, as the source or destination, accommodating volume transfers from 2.5 nL to 50 µL. The BioCel ensures source and destination plate sample integrity with appropriate storage in one or more integrated environments that control temperature, CO2 and humidity levels.
In the described application source plates typically contain compounds and destination plates typically contain cell suspensions, buffers or protein solutions. Agilent VWorks, the dynamic scheduling software, allows for throughput of more than a million compounds a day, producing compound bank copies for several users and different applications in parallel.
The BioCel System used in this application was a dual robot system, with a variety of liquid handling options (Agilent Vertical Pipetting Station, Genetix aliQuot, Innovadyne Nanodrop and Labcyte Echo 550).
From stand-alone units to fully integrated systems, Agilent Automation Solutions teams key sample preparation and creative walk-away automation approaches with personalised customer service to provide complete solutions for your laboratory. Combining innovative engineering with high standards of quality, Agilent designs and manufactures high-performance equipment for processes that are revolutionising pharmaceutical, biotech, and genomic research.
