QPix FLEX Microbial Colony Picker

The QPix FLEX system transforms microbial research by automating what was once tedious, manual labor – colony picking, plating, and streaking – all in a single compact instrument that fits right on your benchtop or inside a hypoxic chamber.

Built for precision, flexibility, and space-limited environments, the QPix FLEX system combines over 95% efficiency and greater than 99% picking accuracy with advanced colormetric imaging, enabling researchers to classify and select colonies based on both morphology and color. This ensures only the most viable and relevant colonies move forward in your workflow.

From synthetic biology to microbiome and food safety research, the QPix FLEX system gives you the power to accelerate discovery, reduce hands-on time, and streamline your entire microbial screening process.

Key benefits:

• Equipped with a high-resolution color camera, the QPix FLEX system classifies and selects colonies based on morphology and color – ensuring you pick the most relevant and viable colonies every time.
• With its small footprint, the QPix FLEX system fits directly into hypoxic and anaerobic chambers, making advanced automation accessible in environments where space and sterility are critical.
  • Switch between eco-friendly sterilizable tips and disposable plastic tips without changing hardware, giving you flexible control over sterility, sustainability, and cost.
• From plating and streaking to colony picking, liquid handling, and hit picking, the QPix FLEX system automates every step in your microbial screening workflow – saving time, reducing error, and streamlining operations.
• Automate complex liquid handling tasks like media dispensing, glycerol addition, plating, and hit picking without needing additional instruments, thanks to the versatile 4-channel pipettor.
• Maintain full traceability across every plate and pick with automated 2D barcode scanning, supporting reproducibility, regulatory compliance, and high-integrity data.

Key features:

• High-resolution color and white light camera: Enables precise colony classification based on morphology and color – ideal for phenotype-based selection and microbial diversity screening.
• Multi-function pipetting head (4-channel): Automates media dispensing, plating, hit picking, and streaking, reducing manual intervention and ensuring consistent sample preparation.
• Swappable tip system: Quickly switch between sterilizable metal pins and disposable tips without changing hardware. Maximize sterility, sustainability, or budget depending on your lab’s needs.
• Integrated barcode reader: Built-in 2D barcode scanning ensures full sample traceability from plating through picking and downstream analysis.
• Modular labware deck: Supports flexible source and destination labware configurations, including Petri dishes, PCR plates, microfuge tubes, 96/384-well plates, and more.
• Proprietary plating & streaking tip: Gently streaks colonies across agar surfaces with precision, preserving plate quality and minimizing disruption to delicate media.
• Compact, chamber-ready footprint: Sized for benchtops and hypoxic chamber use (25.2 x 21.6 x 27.6 in), allowing full automation even in space-constrained or anaerobic environments.
• Automation-ready connectivity: API integration enables connection to robotic arms or full lab automation systems for extended walk-away time and higher throughput.