HTS: Automated Liquid Handling

The Yale Center for High Throughput Cell Biology utilizes Tecan Freedom EVO 200 platforms highly advanced, fully automated liquid and plate handling platforms capable of processing 96-, 384-, and 1536-well plates. Our platforms can deliver liquid volumes from 10 nanoliters to 125 microliters and can process hundreds of plates per day. Barcoded screening plates allow digital plate tracking and real-time data streaming to our enterprise-scale sample, plate, and results database. Two platforms are housed in custom biosafety enclosures allowing for processing of BSL-2 samples including human cells and certain pathogens. A fourth platform is used exclusively for immunostaining and aids in maintaining high throughput.

The platforms are equipped with software (Tecan’s EVOware Plus) allowing our automation specialists to create custom scripts thus tailoring each process to independent client needs. A built in scheduler allows precise control over reagent addition and incubation time intervals for consistent handling of plates, whether processing 1 or 100 plates.

Some of the automated liquid handling services currently provided at HTCB are:

Plate duplication:
Mother plates can be stamped out to daughter plates and subsequently delivered to assay plates    with various specifications: custom coated (e.g. Poly L Ornithine and Gelatin), clear bottom,     opaque bottom, etc.

Plate re-arraying: from 96 to 384, or breakdown of 384 to 96.

Plate dilutions: (whole plate serial dilutions, ½ log dilutions, etc)

Plate staining: (e.g. Hoechst or Nestin) for post fixation plates.

Reagent addition:
• Small volume transfers (<1uL) with 384-well floating pin-tool head (used for compound additions or any other addition requiring great accuracy at very low volume).
• Large volume sterile liquid transfers (1uL-125uL) with 384-well disposable tip head (capable of    any addition where sterile technique is required including customized delivery reagent to specific wells if leaving out a column or a row.
• Large volume non-sterile transfers (1uL-125uL) with 384-well fixed tip head for any other    transfers where plate-to-plate contamination is not a concern

• 96- and 384-well pin tool dispenser heads.
• 384 adapter head for disposable tips.
• 96- and 384-fixed tip heads.
• Robotic Manipulator Arm (RoMA) for removal of plate lids and transfer of plates to and from carrier and instrument.
• Temperature controlled plate carriers.
• Precise scheduling software for custom timed operations (e.g. incubation times).

Thermo Scientific Multidrop Combi

• Bulk reagent and liquid dispenser
• Holding 6- to 1536 well plate types.
• Capacity of dispensing volume range 5.0 to 2500µl.
• Dispensing speed of liquid at a controlled rate.

Tecan Infinite M1000 Microplate reader

• Absorbance: UV Silicon photodiode, 4 channel parallel reading.
• Fluorescence: Extended wavelength (UV and red sensitive).
• Luminescence: Photon counting low dark current PMT 96-, 384-, 1536-well fibers.
• High energy UV/VIS/NIR xenon flash lamp, light–emitting diodes.

Tecan Plate washer

• Simultaneous processing of all microplate wells in 96 or 384-well format.
• Tunable wash parameters for best results with both cell-based
and ELISA assays for research use.
• Handling of up to 3 wash buffers for maximum application flexibility

Agilent PlateLoc Thermal plate sealer

• Automated plate sealing system.
• Used stand alone or integrated with Tecan platforms.

Nexus XPeel Plate De-Sealer

• Automated plate seal removal system.
• Ideal for preventing risks of contamination with manual applications.

Incubators

A) Liconic Instruments StoreX Automated Precision Incubator
• Carousel based automated incubator.
• Houses up to 110 microplates.

B) Thermo Scientific Heracell 150 CO2 incubators
• Dedicated to cell culture
• Equipped with heat decontamination and antimicrobial protection technology.
• Designed for optimal growth conditions and superior parameter recovery rates.