homogeneous bead mixing solutions at Innovadyne Technologies
Homgeneous bead mixing, as well as long-term and short-term instrument reliability and robustness are critical factors in bead-based assays, where conventional liquid handlers tend to fail due to fouling of tips and valves. Beads have the potential to become lodged in moving parts, thus reducing the lifetime and increasing the downtime of many traditional liquid handlers. Innovadyne's proprietary technology isolates the moving parts such as syringes and solenoid valves so that they remain in a pristine system fluid environment and so the beads never come in contact with these parts.
The Nanodrop II platform is ideal for bead and membrane dispensing. Highly precise non-contact dispensing, low dead volumes and fast, effective washing make the Nanodrop cost effective, versatile and reliable. Bead suspension is addressed by employing a paddle-wheel stirrer in the reagent tray or an orbital shaker beneath the source plate, and a protocol that optimizes aspiration rate and dispenses beads rapidly (~10 seconds for a 384-well plate and 15 seconds for a 1536-well plate) before they have a chance to settle in the dispense tubing. Chilled and heated reagents can be refilled with a recirculating reagent addition module.
In the application note "Solving the Challenges of Automated SPA YOx Bead Dispensing", developed in collaboration with GE Healthcare (Whitchurch, UK), GE Healthcare used a Nanodrop II with bead dispensing accessories to dispense 1.25 µL of 80 mg/mL Streptavidin-coated YOx beads into all wells of twelve Greiner 1536-well plates. These beads were then reacted with 3H-biotin and their fluorescence measured. Whole plate Cv’s ran between 3.9% and 5.4% with no overall trends seen in the dispensing. Signal-to-noise values in excess of 10:1 were observed. Also, no tips or solenoids showed signs of clogging during this period, and no degradation of system performance was observed in the course of this study.
It should be noted that previous publications with other technologies have not demonstrated the ability to successfully automate the dispense of YOx beads at high concentrations to all wells of a 1536-well plate.
YOx Bead Dispense to Twelve 1536-Well Plates
|
|
Whole Plate Cv's | 3.9% to 5.4% |
Signal-to-Noise Ratio | 10:1 |
Bead Concentration | 80 mg/mL |
Features (all platforms)
Valve-free fluid path -- beads cannot contaminate valves
Fast delivery minimizes bead settling and aggregation
Flexible aspirate and dispense settings
User defined syringe speeds and pressure set points
Ability to clean nozzles between runs
Online bead mixing
Easy to maintain
Low-dead volumes
Large dynamic volume range: 100 nL-40 uL
96, 384, 1536, 3456 plates
96/384/1536 low profile, Xtal, and deep well
User-friendly software
Simple to integrate with drivers available from most integrators
Platforms
Item |
Description |
Plate Positions |
8-Tip Head |
16-Tip Head |
96-Tip Head |
Syringe Channels |
1,4, or 8-Tip Additions to all Wells |
11638 |
2 |
Yes |
- |
- |
8 |
Yes |
|
12056 |
1 or 2 |
- |
Yes |
- |
16 |
Yes |
|
11164 |
5 |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
16 |
Yes |
|
12027 |
5 |
Yes |
- |
Yes |
104 |
Yes |
Software
Item |
Description |
11727 |
|
10591 |
Nanodrop GUI (for Nanodrop only) |
Accessories
Item |
Description |
11675 |
|
11731 |
|
|
Wide-bore tip set (200 µm) (all platforms) |
|
Bead dispense harness frame (Nanodrop) |
Specifications
Return-To-Spot Accuracy | 0.1 mm |
Aspiration Range, 8-Tip Head | 0.1-500µL |
Dispensing Range (8-Tip Non-Contact) | 0.1-40µL |
Dispensing Range (96-Tip) | Screenmaker: 0.1-125µL |
Dispensing Precision, 8-Tip Head | CV<10% at 100nL, CV<7% at 200nL, CV<5% at 1µL |
Dispensing Precision, 96-Tip Head | CV<15% at 100nL, CV<10% at 200nL, CV<5% at 1µL |
Dispensing Accuracy, 8-Tip Head | ±10% at 100nL, ±7% at 200nL, ±5% at >1 µL |
Dispensing Accuracy, 96-Tip Head | Screenmaker: ±10% at 100-500nL, ±5% at >1 500nL |
Dead Volume, 8-Tip head | 1.5µL/channel at 1µL across 384-well plate |
Dead Volume, 96-Tip head | <1µL/channel |
Syringe Capacity | 500, 1000µL |
