Artel Unveils Customer-Specific Capabilities of its Liquid Handler Performance Verification Service

Artel showcased its enhanced Liquid Handler Performance Verification service at Pittcon 2010. In addition to verification of instrument performance, the service now includes validation of customer-specific liquid handling methods, allowing laboratories to further optimize liquid handling processes.

“The economy is not moving as quickly as anyone would like, but the pressure on laboratories to perform is as high as it has ever been. In the face of industry-wide budget cuts, consolidation, and job elimination, Artel’s Liquid Handler Performance Verification service can help laboratories overcome resource shortages,” said Kirby Pilcher, President, Artel. “This service allows laboratories to speed up and optimize their critical verification processes, while also meeting internal and regulatory standards.”

Equipment performance verification is a major component of laboratory quality assurance. Providing third-party, documented assessment of instrument accuracy and precision, Artel’s Liquid Handler Performance Verification service can be applied to a wide range of liquid handler models, from single- to 384-channel devices, from multiple manufacturers.

In addition, Artel’s enhanced verification service is aligned with actual assay protocols. For instance, it can assess equipment performance when dispensing into a dry (empty well) or wet (buffer in well) environment, verify volumes of some non-aqueous solutions, including DMSO, and even measure dilution ratios in serial dilution methods.

“Regular assessment of automated liquid handlers is not only critical to ensure data integrity, avoid remedial action, and comply with regulations, but also to create standardization that allows labs to compare and transfer their methods,” added Pilcher. “By bringing our Liquid Handler Performance Verification service into their laboratories on a regular basis, customers can rest assured that their liquid handlers are operating accurately and that their methods are working across laboratories.”

During a Liquid Handler Performance Verification service visit, a trained Artel application specialist conducts device verification using the Artel MVS® (Multichannel Verification System), a standardized volume verification system, to ensure accurate and precise volume measurements. The service provides results that are traceable to NIST (National Institute for Standards and Technology) for standardized and comparable assessment. Hence, customers are assured that the same performance standards are met between instruments, between methods, and between labs.

The Liquid Handler Performance Verification service is part of Artel’s Liquid Handler Quality Assurance service suite, which also includes Pipetting Training and Certification Seminars and Product Installation and Validation Services.