Burnham Institute Selects Labcyte Acoustic Liquid Handling Technology
16 Nov 2007Labcyte Inc. will supply Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) with more than $2.3 million worth of Echo® liquid handlers for use in screening large biological libraries. The systems will be installed at both the Institute’s LaJolla, (CA) and Lake Nona, Orlando (FL) campuses. These instruments will be part of the world’s largest screening system and will bolster Burnham’s research and drug discovery efforts, which include research on cancer, neurological diseases, aging, diabetes, and obesity.
Burnham is one of the nation’s 10 collaborating centers of excellence funded under a special initiative created by the National Institutes of Health, which together comprise the largest public-sector drug discovery effort in history. The state-of-the-art Labcyte technology will improve screening results while reducing operating costs for Burnham and the collaborating network advancing this historical effort. The systems will be delivered over the next six months.
“The Echo liquid handlers were selected because their unique acoustic technology will enhance our ability to miniaturize assays, reduce compound waste, and meet throughput requirements,” explained Dr. Stefan Vasile, Director of the Chemical Library Screening Facility for Burnham Institute. “The Echo systems will be used for compound plate-to-plate transfer, reformatting, dose-response experiments and hit picking.”
“Our patented acoustic droplet ejection technology dramatically reduces waste while cutting operating expenses,” said Dr. Elaine J. Heron, Labcyte CEO. “Traditional liquid handlers are prone to poor precision and accuracy as transfer volumes are decreased. Researchers who require flexibility in their processes and biology find that the Echo systems provide that for them easily, quickly, and cost-effectively.”
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Echo® 550 Liquid Handler
Beckman Coulter Life SciencesImagine preparing assay plates for siRNA screening, compound screening with biochemical and cell-based assays, PCR reactions and more all on a single liquid handling platform, with no tips and no cross-contamination. Labcyte has developed new acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) parameters that deliver built-in intelligence to enable users to transfer many different fluid types from a single instrument. All Echo systems come pre-calibrated so that you can switch among different fluid types with just a click of the mouse. No further adjustment is required for you to be productive immediately. These developments combine the latest discoveries in wavelength, power and timing requirements for ADE with real-time fluid measurement at multiple points during a run. The resulting algorithms solve some of the most significant liquid handling challenges with volatile, low-surface tension and/or meniscus-shifting fluids. Volumetric accuracy and precision for all fluids tested so far—including buffers, nucleic acid and protein solutions, surfactants, serum and cell culture media—are comparable to established performance with DMSO. The Echo® 550 liquid handler introduced the world to acoustic droplet ejection (ADE). This award-winning instrument remains the proven choice for low-volume liquid handling in leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. Like the Echo 520 and Echo 555 liquid handlers, the Echo 550 uses "touchless" ADE transfer technology. ADE uses sound energy to transfer 2.5 nL droplets from Echo-qualified 384- and 1536-well source plates into 96-, 384-, 1536- and 3456-well destination plates. This unique touchless technology eliminates consumable tip costs, washing, and cross-contamination. Unsurpassed volumetric precision (≤ 8% CV) and accuracy (≤ 10% CV) ensure superior results. Independent studies have shown that Echo liquid handlers eliminate false negatives due to sample loss on tip surfaces in low-concentration transfers. Like the Echo 555 liquid handler, the Echo 550 liquid handler reports both fluid volume and DMSO hydration. Applications: Compound management Compound screening siRNA screening Biochemical assays Cell-based assays PCR Genotyping Gene expression
Echo® 555 Liquid Handler
Beckman Coulter Life SciencesEcho® 555 liquid handler - the world's fastest acoustic dispensing platform for life science applications. The Echo® 555 liquid handler is the world’s fastest acoustic liquid handling platform for life science applications. Laboratories that demand very high throughput rely upon the Echo 555 liquid handler for round-the-clock trouble-free operation to enable the fastest discovery.The Echo 555 doubles the throughput of the Echo 550 and provides transfers from as many as 660,000 wells per day. Like the Echo 520 and Echo 550 liquid handlers, the Echo 555 uses "touchless" ADE transfer technology. ADE uses sound energy to transfer 2.5 nL droplets from Echo-qualified 384- and 1536-well source plates into 96-, 384-, 1536- and 3456-well destination plates.This unique touchless technology eliminates consumable tip costs, washing, and cross-contamination. Unsurpassed volumetric precision (≤ 8% CV) and accuracy (≤ 10% CV) ensure superior results. Independent studies have shown that Echo liquid handlers eliminate false negatives due to sample loss on tip surfaces in low-concentration transfers. Like the Echo 550 liquid handler, the Echo 555 liquid handler reports both fluid volume and DMSO hydration.Echo® 555 Liquid Handler Features: Tipless transfer, resulting in dramatic cost savings Accurate, precise movement of nanoliter-scale quantities, enabling assay miniaturization and further reducing costs Elimination of cross-contamination, carryover or leachates Better results through direct dilution of compounds, an improvement over serial dilution methods Improved information about sample integrity and improved transfer quality through measurement of DMSO hydration level Applications: Compound management Compound screening siRNA screening Biochemical assays Cell-based assays PCR Genotyping Gene expression