Automated plate washing and vacuum filtration with Tecan's HydroFlex™ platform

Tecan's new HydroFlex™ platform provides excellent performance, reliability and flexibility for a range of 96-well format applications, including washing of ELISAs, cellular assays and protein arrays, and vacuum filtration-to-waste, such as for PCR clean-up.

The platform's outstanding on-line control features set new standards for plate washers, with options including a process control (PC) manifold that monitors all wash steps, and a liquid level detection system (LLD) to monitor filling levels in wash buffers and waste bottles.

The compact and modular platform has very low residual volumes (under 2 ml) and multiple aspiration points for flat-bottom wells, ensuring consistent, high quality washing. The platform's gentle drop-wise dispense mode and movable wash head minimize cell detachment, even with weakly adherent cell-lines, and the advanced pumping system includes a dispense pump with RPM control and a double-head aspiration pump for reliable performance at low service costs.

The advanced vacuum filtration option benefits many applications, such as purification of DNA after PCR steps, where unwanted reaction by-products are easily removed by using filtration membrane plates that collect the purified DNA.

The HydroFlex platform is easily operated as a stand-alone instrument with its built-in keypad, or by using the intuitive HydroControl software for simple pre-programming of wash cycles and plate parameters. The software fulfils user administration requirements, including electronic records and signatures, and allows the HydroFlex to be integrated with Tecan's Freedom EVO® liquid handling workstations or Freedom EVOlyzer® ELISA analyzer.