Equipment:
SmartStation
The UltraPlex™ SmartSystem begins with a customised liquid handling
robot, the SmartStation, which automates assay performance in medium throughput
environments. For example, in clinical diagnostics laboratories at least
160 samples a day can be subjected to a
10-plex UltraPlex™ assay using a single integrated Robot and Reader,
yielding 1,600 datapoints in one working day, equalling or exceeding the
performance of many autoanalysers.
The SmartStation robot has a four-tip head, capable of dispensing 10-1000µl
of liquid (1% CVar and maximum 3% inaccuracy), and incorporates liquid-level
detection technology to ensure reagent transfer. The system uses disposable
plastic tips, but
can be reconfigured to re-use tips if required for particular applications.
Typically, three washes on a 96-well plate take about 10 minutes to perform.
The SmartStation has four (or more, if required) separate liquid reservoirs
suitable for complex protocols with multiple detection reagents, with a
dead volume of less than 10ml conserving costly assay components. Importantly,
the system has a shaking vacuum manifold optimised for handling UltraCodes
in conventional
filter plates. Particle losses are minimised, and the results obtained from
an automated assay are at least equivalent to the manual performance of
the same assay.
