Biomek® 4000 Laboratory Automation Workstation

Sample preparation protocols specify the need for “wide bore” pipette tips and cannulas to minimize the inadvertent harm, which can be applied to native biological sample matrices during sample preparation. Loss of biological sample integrity can occur due to the pipette tips’ small internal orifice diameter and the speed of aspiration and dispense during pipetting. Biomek Wide Bore Pipette Tips have been designed to address such sample preparation challenges. Through the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, physical forces and flow characteristics within a pipette tip during pipetting have been simulated. Comparisons of pipette tip orifice diameters can be analyzed for such parameters as fluid (sample) velocity, wall shear, and shear strain rate.

Pipetting tasks are the backbone of countless assay procedures and ensuring the accuracy and precision of dispensed volumes is paramount to the integrity of assay data. This application note demonstrates how the Artel PCS® Pipette Calibration System can be used to test the performance of a Beckman Coulter Biomek® 3000 Laboratory Automation Workstation’s pipetting tools.

This application note demonstrates the automation of sample preparation and analysis workflows for a variety of common cell-based assays using Biomek Workstations. The solutions include both stand-alone liquid handlers and integrated systems capable of automating entire sample preparation and analysis workflows. Automating cellular assays can reduce time at the bench and increase sample throughput while also reducing user-to-user variability. These benefits can help accelerate the cellular discoveries that will enhance our understanding of basic biology and lead to the identification of novel disease treatments.

Extraction of high quality DNA from formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue is essential for many cancer research applications. The FormaPure DNA extraction kit from Beckman Coulter, Inc. provides a convenient extraction process utilizing Beckman Coulter’s proprietary solid phase reversible immobilization (SPRI) chemistry to extract DNA from FFPE curls. In this application note, find out how the Biomek i7 Hybrid Genomics Workstation can be used to achieve high yields of extracted DNA from FFPE curls.

Single walled carbon nanotubes experienced increasing interest in the past 15 years for semiconductors, fuel cells and biomedical applications. This application note focuses on two challenging areas for nanoparticles: reliable, rapid scale-up of nanoparticle purification; and quantitative analysis of the concentration of species present. The Biomek 4000 Laboratory Automation Workstation helps overcome the human variable and gives a consistent, reproducible, high-throughput method for gradient setup, which provides a breakthrough for scale-up problems.

This application note describes a workflow using automated Biomek methods for centrifugation layering and fractionation, total RNA extraction, and cDNA amplification and clean-up for next generation sequencing. NGS results are reported on benign and cancerous colon cell lines.

This application note discusses methods of exosome isolation from cell cultures with a centrifugation protocol example. Also, it explains the process for “home-brewing” exosome-depleted FBS by ultracentrifugation and compare the cell viability and media depletion percentage from two separate cell lines after treatment with different media types.

This application describes a workflow using the Biomek 4000 Laboratory Automation Workstation to purify and analyze exosome samples. The automation in this workflow minimizes human error and helps to maintain reliability between runs and high reproducibility. The DelsaMax CORE DLS platform is used for size analysis of the fractions, and is able to analyze and size thousands of exosomes in one minute.

This application note describes the use of automated Biomek methods for next generation sequencing on benign and cancerous colon cell lines. Exosomes are small microvesicles, derived from the late endosome, most often described in the literature to be less than 120 nm, released by all cell types, and proven to be involved in cancer metastasis. Exosomes contain proteins, lipids, and microRNA capable of regulating an assortment of target genes. The results of this experiment demonstrate the capabilities of Beckman Coulter instrumentation in producing high impact next generation sequencing data with only a single MiSeq sequencing run. This method can be used to identify potential biomarkers and measure differential expression against sample type.

In this application note Beckman Coulter describe setting up a PCR reaction with the Biomek 4000 Laboratory Automation Workstation giving accurate and highly reproducible results. It also describes amplicon purification using the AMPure CP system.

Dr Ana Kitanović, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, looks at the drug discovery process and the associated challenges. Learn how state-of-the-art automated screening workflows are enabling accurate cost-effective high-content phenotypic screening.

Discover an automated method for stem-cell based phenotypic high-throughput screening for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Motor Neuron Disease. Bruder covers system requirements for drug screening and how they are crucial for better understanding of these increasingly common diseases.

In chapter two of this five-part series, Zach Smith, M.S., Senior Applications Scientist at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, describes a method for exome characterization on the Biomek 4000 with the NEB NEBNext® Small RNA Library Preparation Kit.

Presentation filmed at SLAS2016.

In the final chapter of this five-part series, David Horvath, Application Scientist at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, provides a preview of the company’s new Biomek Method Launcher software. Learn how this add on to the existing Biomek software will allow a simplified user experience.

Presentation filmed at SLAS2016.

This presentation covers automation of capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry workflows for the analytical laboratory. Learn how the Biomek 4000 Workstation enables accurate sample prep, essential for downstream applications.

Learn how manual processes for NGS sample preparation can be integrated into an automated workflow to improve the efficiency of your laboratory. The presentation presents solutions to the challenges associated with this process such as labware selection, heating and cooling, tip usage, user interventions, and chemistry specific issues.

Watch Kerry Parker, SelectScience's Editor-in-Chief, present the Scientists' Choice Award for Drug Discovery & Development Product of the Year to Dr. Russell Green, of Beckman Coulter. The Beckman Coulter Biomek® 4000 Laboratory Automation Workstation was nominated and voted for by the SelectScience Drug Discovery & Development Community.

Watch this presentation to learn how Beckman Coulter’s automated systems and software can meet the challenges of cell culture, including specialized handling of cells and throughput and frequency demands. Discover the range of automated solutions available for cell staining, cell line maintenance, screening, and the development of expression cells.

Watch this presentation to learn about an automated method for strand-specific RNA library preparation using low input samples. Discover how Beckman Coulter’s Biomek liquid handling platforms enable the automation of the NEBNext Ultra Directional RNA Prep Kit for Illumina , providing users with high quality directional RNASeq libraries for sequencing on Illumina.

Berwyn Lloyd talks about the new liquid handling system from Beckman Coulter, the Biomek 4000 Workstation at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2013.

Watch the video to learn about the modular integration deck configuration, off-deck storage space and improved tools.

Applications in the life sciences and drug discovery are described.