Tecan’s MultiChannel Arm^™ 384 – automated 384- and 96-channel pipetting for high throughput liquid handling

Tecan’s MultiChannel Arm™ 384 – automated 384- and 96-channel pipetting for high throughput liquid handling. The new Tecan MultiChannel Arm™ 384 is the most adaptable and flexible multichannel arm on the market, allowing the researcher to perform on-the-fly automatic exchange between 384- and 96-channel pipetting.

The unique technology is possible through the exchange of adaptors which enable you to switch functionality without changing the pipetting arm itself. Special adaptors can be selected for different needs, including column and row pipetting for serial dilutions. Cost-optimized tip usage is achieved through in-process exchange between fixed washable tips or Tecan’s high quality disposable tips in volumes from 0.5 to 125 μl per channel. The flexibility of the pipetting arm can be further enhanced with an integrated gripper module offering 360° rotation for moving labware on or around the worktable. The gripper can even hold lids during pipetting operations for quick lid replacement to limit the exposure of samples to the environment.

A modern trend in lab automation is the movement towards standardized applications. More and more, researchers are reaching for off-the-shelf solutions to satisfy their application needs. Process development is a time-consuming component of automating complex applications in the laboratory or clinical environment. Furthermore, validation of the assays is also expensive and time-demanding. Tecan is creating partnerships with kit manufacturers to create validated solutions which enable the researchers and technicians to become operational with minimal effort. Scripts are already developed and validated by the manufacturers, enabling many laboratories to shave development time and costs from their projects and freeing up the researchers so that they can focus on other tasks. Tecan and Applied Biosystems, for example, have teamed up to offer a standardized package called HID EVOlution™ which is used for qPCR sample preparation for forensic casework samples. Other standardized solution packages offered by Tecan include sample management factories which can be used for applications from biobanking to compound dissolution. For example, the Cellerity™ workstation is a standardized solution which simplifies cell maintenance applications.