Norgren Systems Introduces Its CP7200 Colony Picker

Norgren Systems, a division of Appalachian Electronic Instruments, Inc. (AEI) and developer of laboratory equipment and product related services, introduced its CP7200 colony picker today. The CP7200 offers users high speed picking, ease of use, and ultimate reliability for under $100K.

Ultra-fast picking rates up to 7,200 colonies per hour, advanced imaging software that makes it easy to go from plate to plate and even run to run without timely recalibration efforts, and the smallest footprint of 22”x 20” to optimize lab space are some of the features users can benefit from.

The CP7200 was designed for maximum reliability and minimal downtime, utilizing a continuous picking configuration which provides simultaneous picking, inoculation, washing and sterilization. Additionally, users can easily change individual tungsten needles on the picking turret as necessary without having to remove the whole head. The system was designed to allow high throughput users continuous workflow of picking and inoculation without sacrificing the ease of use and short start-up time required by the average user.

The CP7200 has been optimized to provide the most accurate and precise picking rates. Users typically report a no grow rate of <1% with greater than 90% of pickable colonies identified by the software and picked by the system.

“Our main goal for the CP7200 is to offer researchers who are doing repetitive functions for genomics and proteomics research a faster, easier, and better way to achieve the highest quality results.” said Larry C. Nickell, President of Norgren Systems/AEI. “The responses we are getting from our customers are favorable, confirming that our goal is being accomplished, and most importantly that in the end, it’s really not about our instrument but helping our customers achieve their goals.”

Chris Amemiya, PhD, from the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, an NIH funded private research facility has used the CP7200 to pick several millions of colonies to date. “We have used two CP7200 machines for arraying of numerous bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries under the auspices of NIH and NSF. The ease by which the CP7200 can be operated, the speed of picking, and the overall reliability are highly attractive features of the machine. We have also used the machine for arraying numerous cDNA libraries with very good success.”

The CP7200’s entry level price tag of <$100K makes it affordable for most budgets without sacrificing speed or performance. Integration of accessories for complete walk away automation is also available at a price point at or below other solutions on the market. Contact Norgren Systems for system specifications or more information at 304-645-7809 or visit the web site. Image download: http://www.norgrensystems.com/images/CP7200image.jpg or contact Anna Barcelos at abarcelos@norgrensystems.com.