Labcyte Introduces Four New Products at LabAutomation 2006

Labcyte today announced the introduction of four new products at the LabAutomation 2006 Exhibition. Foremost is the introduction of the Echo™ 555 liquid handler, a next generation system employing acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) for touchless transfer of liquids. The new Echo 555 has ability to dispense up to 600,000 different compounds in 24 hours.

“We believe that the increased throughput is a significant enhancement that will allow users to get better data faster while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars a year,” said Dr. Elaine J. Heron, CEO of Labcyte Inc. “We listened to our customers and with this introduction we have answered one of their most significant requests. We invite people to our booth, 477, and to our Workshop at 12:30 PM on Monday, January 23 to learn more.”

Labcyte is also introducing three new consumables for the lab. “The MicroClime™ environmental lid is a breakthrough for labs,” said Richard Ellson, CTO of Labcyte Inc. “This lid, which is compatible with most SBS standard microplates, dramatically reduces evaporation of liquids from the plates and reduces hydration of liquids in the wells. The lid contains a reservoir of liquid chosen by the user. In the case of compound libraries, the fluid would be DMSO; in other cases, the liquid could be water or some other solvent. Solvent contained in the lid creates a vapor layer that reduces the edge effects and significantly decreases evaporation and hydration of hygroscopic solvents such as DMSO. Dr. Mitchell Mutz will give a talk at 3:30 PM on Monday, January 23 showing how the lid prevents evaporation and hydration.” Applications include maintenance of plates on the screening deck, preservation of undiluted compound solutions dispensed in small volumes, and conservation of water in assay plates.

Labcyte Inc. is also introducing a new 384-well, low dead-volume, ADE source plate. This plate shows a unique diamond pattern and provides researchers with a working range of 2-10 microliters that was previously unavailable. Using the Echo 550 or 550 liquid handlers, over 300 assay plates could be created from one of these plates without adding additional material.

Labcyte, in collaboration with Corning Life Sciences, is introducing a new 1536-well, high-base, ADE source microplate. This new Echo qualified plate is automation-friendly and easily accommodates barcoding. “This source microplate was a joint effort between Corning, with their knowledge of polymers and molding, and Labcyte, with our unique understanding of acoustic technology,” said Dr. Heron. Our users asked us to provide more source plates with different characteristics and we met their challenge. There will be a workshop at 12:30 PM on Tuesday, January 24, where Bristol-Myers Squibb will report on their findings on the use of this plate. This will include ADE transfer results, tests for potential contaminates, and data from biological assays.”