Realising that flexibility is crucial to making laboratory automation work, Tecan has introduced the Air LiHa (air displacement pipetting arm) for Freedom EVO workstations. This innovative module can be freely combined with other arms - including the Liquid LiHa (liquid displacement pipetting arm) and MultiChannel Arm (MCA) pipetting modules - to provide true parallel processing and increased workstation productivity.
The Air LiHa uses advanced air displacement technology to offer accurate and reliable pipetting for Freedom EVO 100, 150 and 200 platforms. This provides greater convenience and lower maintenance requirements for applications using disposable tips by eliminating the need for system liquids.
Available with four or eight pipetting channels, the Air LiHa offers a broad volume range from 0.5 to 1000µl per channel, including free dispensing down to 0.5µl. Each pipetting channel has a user exchangeable inline filter to prevent liquid being drawn into the pipetting head which, combined with permanent pressure monitoring through Freedom EVOware, maximises process security and protects valuable samples and equipment.[Page Break]
This innovative module offers the best of both worlds by allowing a choice of pipetting technologies on the same platform, or even combining both air and liquid displacement on a single workstation, providing what the company describes as unrivalled flexibility to suit the needs of users' applications and laboratory workflows.
In a separate development, Tecan and Siloam Biosciences have announced their intention to co-market a new automated low volume, high sensitivity microfluidic ELISA.
The system is based on Tecan's Freedom EVO liquid handling technology and the Siloam Biosciences' OptiMax microplate. It offers rapid, sensitive and specific chemifluorescence-based ELISA procedures using exceedingly small sample volumes. The speed, sensitivity and small sample requirements are achieved as a result of the novel microfluidic design of the Optimiser technology.
All reactions, including analyte capture and detection, occur within a 5µl microfluidic reaction chamber. The novel microchannel geometry and small reaction volume favour rapid reaction kinetics. A typical assay requires only a 5µl sample and each reaction step is completed within 10 to 20 minutes. With wash times, substrate incubations and read times accounted for, a typical Optimiser technology-based ELISA can be completed within two hours. Exploiting these rapid reaction kinetics on a microscale, coupled with microplate automation on the Freedom EVO workstation, allows for extremely high sensitivity or very fast assays.[Page Break]
Automating the process with the Freedom EVO workstation further enhances Optimiser ELISA efficiency and increases throughput. The Freedom EVO automatically loads analytes and reagents into the wells of the microfluidic microplate, and allows the robotic manipulation of multiple OptiMax microplates. Automation with the Freedom EVO offers benefits, including improved pipetting precision at very low volumes, precise control of dispensing times allowing for short incubation cycles, precise operation of the repeat load process improving sensitivity, and productivity allowing the user to attend to other tasks while the instrument is in operation. A fully integrated read-out of the chemifluorescent signal is provided by Tecan's Infinite M200 microplate reader.[Page Break]
Childrens' health
Synbiosis has announced that its ProtoCOL 3 automated colony counter is being successfully used at one of Europe's largest children's health research facilities, the UCL (University College London) Institute of Child Health (ICH), to rapidly assess the effectiveness of novel vaccines.
The ProtoCOL 3 system is designed for flexibility and accuracy and can read plates of 30-150mm, detecting colonies as small as 43 microns and measuring zones to 0.1mm, tasks which no other automated colony counter can achieve. Additionally, the ProtoCOL 3 system's novel tri-colour imaging method means performing challenging applications such as distinguishing grid lines on filters from colonies and counting black colonies on dark media are made quick and easy.
Scientists in the immunobiology unit at UCL ICH are using a Synbiosis ProtoCOL 3 alongside a ProtoCOL HR to count thousands of small colonies of Streptococcus pneumoniae plated on modified Todd-Hewitt agar following an opsonophagocytic-killing assay (OPA). This is helping the researchers there to rapidly determine the efficacy of new pneumococcal vaccines.
With the increase in antibiotic resistance of many bacteria, the production of innovative pneumococcal vaccines is an area of critical importance. The ProtoCOL3 automated colony counter can generate and analyse data more rapidly.
Lucy Cowell, laboratory technician in the immunobiology unit at UCL ICH explained: "We routinely use OPA because we are the WHO reference lab for pneumococcal serology and provide testing for many groups. We have been successfully using the ProtoCOL HR for this work for six years but have recently reached capacity with this system, as we now have around 150 post-OPA plates to count every day. Since each plate has thousands of tiny colonies on it, it is virtually impossible to count them by eye, so manual counting is not an option."[Page Break]
She continued: "To maintain consistency, which is important in clinical programmes, we assessed current automated colony counting technology and then decided to install the latest ProtoCOL system. We have been using the ProtoCOL3 for several months, the system is smaller and its counting performance is faster than the ProtoCOL HR, so it was the right choice to help us increase our throughput."
Synbiosis has also announced that its aCOLade manual colony counter is being used at major UK food manufacturer, Pukka Pies, to ensure that its pies are top quality and free from microbial contaminants.
The easy to use aCOLade colony counter is being used in the onsite microbiology testing laboratory at Pukka Pies to accurately count mixed colonies on total viable count (TVC) plates, as well as bacterial colonies including coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter and Clostridium perfringens on a range of different media.
Scientists at Pukka Pies are able to perform so many different counts using the aCOLade because this versatile system has interchangeable backgrounds, as well as an adjustable plate ring, making it suitable for counting shiny colonies and colonies on different plate sizes.[Page Break]
Val Burton, laboratory supervisor at Pukka Pies, said: "Our previous colony counter was white light based, which gave us a reflection problem, especially when we were counting white colonies on TVC media. We saw the aCOLade advertised as being anti-glare because it offers two different backgrounds and decided to give this counter a try in our lab. We have been using the aCOLade for almost a year to count around 50 plates every day. The aCOLade is brilliant. The system is reliable, sensitive and has a nice viewing magnifying glass so suits our needs perfectly."
The latest offering from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics is Aptio Automation, the company's next generation laboratory automation platform. Aptio Automation promises to transform laboratory operations by combining Siemens' industry-leading workflow expertise with peak performance, adaptability and intelligent technology.
With every laboratory configured differently and floor space at a premium, Aptio Automation's circular track and modular design ensure it can adapt to nearly any lab or testing environment. It also offers connectivity to Siemens' portfolio of automation-ready analysers, thus facilitating a multidisciplinary approach to testing.
Further, Aptio Automation's point-in-space aspiration feature helps streamline workflow by reducing the need to aliquot (or divide) samples, and its puck-based system with RFID enables individual sample routing and tracking, along with STAT prioritisation.[Page Break]
Halia middleware gets FDA clearance
NoemaLife's HALIA middleware has been cleared by the FDA for use in the USA. The interface uses a powerful rule-based engine to provide a fully functional response to the needs of laboratories during daily workflow management. The complete web-based computerisation system allows central management and connection of every analyser through a single interface on any workstation.
HALIA middleware enables auto-verification and sample routing, as well as real-time clinical data capture and management, for improved quality control. By supporting open automation systems, and addressing issues such as regulatory compliance, workforce reductions and enhanced quality control, HALIA meets the complex automation and data management challenges currently facing laboratory managers.
Growing levels of point of care testing (POCT) are reflected in HALIA's POCT data manager function. This gives lab managers a real-time overview of all the data relating to multiple blood gas analysers or other devices, including instrument maintenance schedules and QC alerts.
HALIA also provides detailed real-time data on total turnaround time (TAT) - a key performance indicator in laboratories striving to increase throughput. Addressing the situation where works stops if a LIS/LIMS system goes down, HALIA's LIS/LIMS backup module allows manual input of sample information so that analysis can continue. Manual samples are then matched to LIS/LIMS data once the connection is restored.
Andrea Chiapponi, md of NoemaLife, commented: "In addition to laboratories looking for open middleware which is vendor independent, HALIA will be of interest to IVD device vendors wanting to create turnkey solutions which include maximum LIS/LIMS connectivity."
