Liquid Handling at the HTSKC

Instrument iLab Schedules: Multidrop, Wellmate, PlateWasher, Velocity11 VPrep, Agilent Bravo System and/or Plate Sealer.

The High-Throughput Screening Knowledge Center (HTSKC) has the ability to run microplate based small molecule screens in a fully automated mode with the Caliper Life Sciences (formerly Zymark, now part of Perkin Elmer) Sciclone ALH3000 liquid handler integrated system. For siRNA screens we have an Agilent Bravo system . We also have stand alone instrumentation with stackers for running screens in "workstation" mode.

Staccato Integrated System

More photos of integrated system. Click for larger images.

The SciClone ALH3000 robot can accommodate either 96- or 384-tip manifolds, enabling it to rapidly pipet volumes to 96-, 384-, and 1536-well microplates. It also has a Z8 module that contains eight independent syringe-based pipets, allowing liquid transfers to other formats (e.g. 6-well plates or racks of tubes) from either microplates or tubes. The main pipetting head includes a gripper tool that permits the movement of microplates and disposable tip boxes from any of the 20 deck positions. With this configuration, the Sciclone can add reagents to any microplate format, complete microplate replications and dilutions, and perform “hit picking” tasks (the transfer of a single sample from any position in a microplate or rack of tubes to any other microplate or tube). In addition, the Sciclone pipetting head has the ability to pick up disposable tips in any format (i.e. a subset of the tips in a 96- or 384-tip box), which allows the use of multiple tips for rapid serial dilutions. We also have integrated a V&P Scientific 384 Pin Tool that is capable of 50-200 nL transfers.

A Twister II robotic arm is integrated to the Sciclone ALH3000. The Twister II is equipped with six 40-microplate stackers and is capable of shuttling microplates to and from the Sciclone deck. The twister integrates a Titertek Multidrop dispenser and an Bio-Tek ELx406 platewasher/dispenser with the Sciclone permitting the unattended, seamless completion of complex experimental protocols, maximizing the efficiency of this liquid-handling system. Cell-based assays are further supported by the addition of a carbon dioxide incubator to the Sciclone pipetting deck. This modification enables the automated shuttling of microplates between a cell culture-compatible environment, the Sciclone deck, the Multidrop dispenser, and the ELx406 microplate washer/dispenser, making it possible to automate an entire cell-based assay. Finally, the twister robot is integrated to a Molecular Devices Analyst GT multimode plate reader. This allows for full automation of most assays.

Instrument List (links go to latest versions of instruments)

Staccato integrated system: iLink Pro User Manual

• Sciclone ALH3000 -- Sciclone Product Brochure -- Sciclone Tech Sheet -- Sciclone Cell Station Data Sheet --User Manual
• Twister II -- Twister II Data Sheet -- User Manual
• Liconic 198 plate CO2 incubator -- User Manual
• Titertek Multidrop 384 -- Data Sheet -- User Manual
• Bio-Tek ELx406PUB2 platewasher/dispenser -- Data Sheet --User Manual
  --ELx406 with valve module for connection of up to 4 buffer solutions
• Molecular Devices Analyst GT

Agilent Technologies Bravo system for automated Next Gen Seq, siRNA transfection, and liquid handling: Cool Video of Agilent System

• VWorks Software -- Data Sheet -- Setup Guide -- User Manual
• Bravo Liquid Handler -- Bravo Data Sheet -- User Manual
• BenchCel2 Stack -- User Manual
• BenchCel4 Stack
• PlateLoc -- PlateLoc Data Sheet, Seal Selection Guide -- User Manual
• Matrix Wellmate -- Matrix Wellmate Data Sheet -- User Manual
• Bio-Tek ELx405UV platewasher -- Biotek Plate Washers Data Sheet -- User Manual
  --ELx405 Select with valve module for connection of up to 4 buffer solutions

Independent stacker based workstation instrumentation

Additionally there are several Titertek and Labsystems Multidrop 384s -- Data Sheet -- User Manual