Research Automation Solutions by Beckman Coulter Featured at SLAS 2012

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences will offer an array of innovative platforms for cellular and molecular biology research to attendees at this year’s inaugural Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) conference and exhibition at the San Diego Convention Center. An extensive exhibit in booth 619 and detailed workshops will feature automated solutions for high-throughput applications in flow cytometry and the preparation of genomic samples for sequencing.

Monday’s workshop, Automated Solutions for High-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing Sample Preparation (Feb. 6, 12:30 p.m., Room 15B, mezzanine level), will feature two presentations, one covering automated sample preparation for environmental genomic studies by Zachary Smith from the Indiana University Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics and one on the use of automation in the study of complex diseases by Shawn Levy, faculty investigator and manager of the Genomic Services Lab at Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. Attendees at Tuesday’s workshop, Innovative Multi-parameter High-Throughput Screening: Faster…Cheaper…Better (Feb. 7, 12:30 p.m., Room 9, upper level), will hear J. Paul Robinson from Purdue University detail how the use of automated, high-throughput flow cytometry with such cellular models as stem cells can increase assay robustness and reproducibility.

A Scientific Podium Presentation, Controlling Stem Cell Growth and Differentiation by Automation: Enhanced and More Reliable Differentiation for Drug Discovery, will be offered Wednesday Feb. 8 at 2:00 p.m. in Ballroom 6C, upper level. Michael Kowalski, Ph.D., senior application scientist, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences will speak at this event, which will complete the company’s workshops at the conference. For more information on the workshops at SLAS presented by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, please visit www.beckmancoulter.com/SLAS2012

SPRIworks HT*, a high-throughput solution for preparing fragment libraries for Illumina next generation sequencers, will be introduced at the Beckman Coulter Life Sciences booth, # 619 in the exhibit hall. The system allows up to 96 libraries to be processed with greater speed and sample reproducibility and decreased processing costs. Built-in SPRI (Solid Phase Reversible Immobilization)-based size selection is included, along with a suite of methods that automate downstream processes such as PCR setup, PCR cleanup, qPCR setup, quantitation, normalization and sample pooling.

The new Biomek 4000 Liquid Handling Workstation**, the latest iteration in the company’s renowned Biomek*** product line, will be previewed. The Biomek 4000 will be a flexible and modular liquid handling platform that brings several new software and hardware features to market. The Biomek 4000 will offer both single-channel and eight-channel options, a modular and expandable deck layout, an optional enclosure, pre-loaded liquid transfer methods and industry-leading Biomek software.

“Scientists visiting us at SLAS will find a Genomics Station, a Cellular Station and an Innovation Hub in the exhibit hall,” noted Patrick O’Donnell, senior global marketing manager, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences. “Attendees at our talks and in our booth will find automation solutions that can improve their workflow and results. This year we invite attendees to visit booth 619 to view our ‘My Biomek Scrapbook’ to see how our customers are using their Biomek Systems to advance their research.”