World News

Zymark Corporation: Industry Update

Zymark Corporation (Hopkinton, MA) has recently released a new series of products. Two of these are their automated microplate sealer and their automated microplate barcode labeler. The Presto™ Microplate Sealer Workstation is designed to deliver a polyester seal to the top surface of either a microplate or deep well plate.

Presto Microplate Sealer

The Presto™ Microplate Labeler prints and applies adhesive barcode labels, using true one-to-one barcoding to eliminate mismatched plates and labels. The Presto Plate Sealer and the Presto Labeler use Automation Certified™ Plate Seals and Barcode Labels that are compatible with compounds stored in DMSO down to −20°C. The Presto Labeler features a large capacity label reel that holds 4,000 labels and has scaleable barcode and user comments fields. Both workstations are available as a standalone workstation, integrated into a robotic system, or loaded using the Twister™ Microplate Handler. As a standalone workstation, the Presto Microplate Sealer is loaded into the plate locator and the seal application is triggered by a palm switch adjacent to the station. When used as an integrated workstation, the sealer can either seal batches of plates or seal sequentially as they complete a sample preparation method.

Presto Microplate Labeler

Zymark has also released the Solution Phase Synthesis System, a fully automated solution for parallel synthesis, combinatorial chemistry, and lead generation. Designed for the medicinal chemist, the system provides reagent preparation, reaction, and cleanup all on a single platform. The Solution Phase Synthesis System uses STEM reactions, Filtration and Liquid Extraction modules, as well as Barcode reading—providing the functions required for a wide range of solution phase synthesis applications.

Solution Phase Synthesis System

The MultiDose Plus Workstation has likewise been released. This USP compliant system fully automates dissolution tests which employ USP Apparatus #1 (Baskets) and USP Apparatus #2 with Capsule Sinkers. Expanding on Zymark's MultiDose, it integrates a side-car workstation that attaches and detaches baskets or retrieves spent capsule sinkers. In conjunction with an “automation ready” Vankel 7000 Dissolution Apparatus, it can run up to eight batches unattended, with all operations documented in an electronic audit trail.

MultiDose Plus Workstation

Zymark announces a collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and the R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Institute (PRI). These collaborations will speed the implementation of Zymark's new Allegro™ Ultra High Throughput Screening technology (Allegro UHTS) in their laboratories in Ridgefield, Connecticut and Raritan, New Jersey. The Allegro system, consisting of inter-linked modular workstations in a novel assembly-line arrangement, achieves screening throughput of 100,000 assay points per day.

Circle 301

IAI America, Inc., Introduces an Optional Vertical Axis

IAI America, Inc., (Torrance, CA) introduces an optional vertical 300mm vertical axis (Z axis) to the company's new line of SCARA robots. The new option doubles the products standard 150mm Z axis stroke. The company's IH series SCARA robots offer high speed and accurate positioning for use in applications including pick and place, dispensing, parts transfer, loading and unloading. The robots are offered in four models: 500, 600, 700, 800mm reaches. Specifications include a maximum speed of 4710 mm/sec, a maximum payload of 4kg, and full path motion capability.

Circle 302

IRORI Announces the Release of the Accucleave™-96 Cleavage Station

IRORI's (La Jolla, CA) Accucleave-96 Cleavage Station provides a means to obtain a high throughput simultaneous cleavage of 96 compounds that have been synthesized on solid phase supports. The station may be used interchangeably with either IRORI's AccuTag™-100 Combinatorial Chemistry System or the automated AutoSort™-10K System. Its reliable valveless design eliminates the possibility of well to well cross contamination or leakage. All components are resistant to typical cleavage conditions using trifluoracetic acid (TFA), dichloromethane, and acetonitrile. The Synthesis Manager™ controls all the systems and provides complete tracking of compound identification and archival locations.

Circle 303

Beckman Coulter Announces New Products

Beckman Coulter Inc., (Fullerton, CA) introduces the CEQ™ 2000 DNA Analysis System for fully automated sequencing. The CEQ 2000, using capillary electrophoresis (CE) technology with laser-induced fluorescence detection, features four-color dideoxy-terminator chemistry and operates in microplate format. The CEQ 2000 provides a final report calling over 500 bases on eight samples in just two hours and on a complete 96-well plate in 24 hours, all with unattended operation. The CEQ 2000's software measures the accuracy of each base cell, eliminating the need to access a separate software program for accuracy determination. Capillary electorphoresis methodology improves lab efficiency by eliminating plate washing, gel casting, and tasks associated with loading samples onto slab gels. CEQ samples have format capability with the Biomek® 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation and the Multimek™ 96 Automated 96-Channel Pipettor.

CEQ™ 2000 DNA Analysis System

Biomek 2000 BioWorks™ software

Beckman Coulter, Inc., has introduced a new product that expands the capabilities of the Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation workstation—a new version of BioWorks™ software, the graphical interface used to program and control the Biomek 2000 and its accessories. BioWorks software has been upgraded to a 32-bit application that runs under the Windows NT™ operating system, Beckman Coulter has incorporated 384 well plates into the software interface, so that the Biomek 2000 can easily be programmed to pipette in and out of those plates automatically. Smaller liquid volumes, as little as 1 μL, can be routinely pipetted, reducing reagent and sample cost and decreasing storage space requirements. The current users of Biomek 2000 can upgrade to the 3.0 software, which will be standard on all new systems.

Circle 304

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., (OCD) Announces the Release of the AutoFlex™ module for its Vitros® Eci Immunodiagnostic system

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., (Raritan, NJ) announces the release of the AutoFlex™ module. The new module features automatic reflex testing and dilution which supports increased laboratory productivity and streamlined assay workflows.

IFCC-WorldLab Announces its Recognition of the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA)

In an expression of gratitude for the ALA's donation of $5,600 to the IFCC-Worldlab '99 Bursaries program (Firenze, Italy), the ALA will be recognized in the Congress Program and in a forthcoming issue of IFCC-WorldLabNews. The ALA donation will be used to help scientists from developing countries to attend IFCC-WorldLab '99.

The AutoFlex module includes enhancements to sample programming that reduce the number of operator steps required to program samples and download programs for laboratory information systems (LIS). Another feature is automatic operator-requested dilution for maximum flexibility in ordering assays. According to Jeff Lorenz, OCD marketing manager, “with automatic reflex testing, labs can now implement automatic algorithmic testing regimes.”

Circle 305

Skatron Instruments Introduces the Cell Washer 600 and the Cell Stacker 650

Skatron Instruments (Lier, Norway), has introduced the Cell Washer 600 and Cell Stacker 650. They are ideal for washing both adherent and nonadherent cell-lines in a 96 well plate.

Washing all 96 wells at one time ensures a uniform wash and reliable data. They feature user adjustable aspirate and dispense probe positions. Availability is in two forms: a stand-alone version (RS232 interface) and a Stacker version.

Circle 306

Argonaut Technologies and Chiron Technologies Publish Technical Application Note for Combinatorial Chemistry

Argonaut Technologies (San Carols, CA) and Chiron Technologies Pty. Ltd., (Melbourne, Australia) a subsidiary of Chiron Corporation (Emeryville, CA), have published a technical application note describing the use of Chiron's SynPhase™ Crowns with Argonaut's Nautilis™ 2400 Automated Organic Synthesizer.

Using this methodology, several hundred compounds can theoretically be produced in a single run on the Nautilis. The published methodology is shown using a 4 × 4 matrix of SNAr aryl amine products with purities ranging from 85% to 100%. Using the Nautilus 2400 with Chiron SynPhase Crowns allowed one to utilize automated synthesis and “directed sorting” methodology to generate compound libraries. The technical applications note can be downloaded directly form the Argonaut Web site at www.argotech.com or obtained by contacting Argonaut directly at 888-598-1350. Outside the US, call 650-598-1350 or Fax [phone].

Circle 307

Biomatic Announces the Services of Their Newly Incorporated Company

Biomatic Inc., (Ashland, MA), incorporated March 9, 1998 in Massachusetts, announces the services of their project management. Biomatic provides assistance in analyzing needs, custom designing automation and bioseparation projects, and selecting the optimum equipment and vedor(s). They assume responsibility for coordination of all aspects of automation and bioseparation projects from day-to-day contact with vendors, to providing clients with advice on the status of the system.

Biomatic provides clients with designs and recommendations in the field of drug discovery, including high throughput screening (HTS), combinatorial chemistry, and dedicated workstations for specific applications related to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical techniques. System configurations include ELISA, Cell-Based Assay, Radiological Binding Assay, Enzyme Binding Assay, Radio Immune Assay, Receptor Binding Assay, PCR and Genomic Automation, Colony Picking Application. Bioseparation services offered by Biomatic include recommendations and method development for micro- to large-scale high performance liquid chromatography, HPLC, capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography (CE/CEC), and supercritical fluid chromatography and extraction (SFC/SFE).

Circle 308

CENSA Welcomes Adobe Systems and Its Support in the Development of Digital Archiving and Recordkeeping Systems

Rich Lysakowski, Executive Director of CENSA (the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems Association) and the Collaborative Electronic Notebook Systems (CENS) Consortium (Woburn, MA) announced on May 29, 1998 that Adobe Systems Incorporated (San Jose, CA) has joined CENSA and the CENS Consortium as a leading Supplier Member. The collaborative electronic tools produced through this union will facilitate research among the world's scientists—speeding the sharing, reusing, and archiving of critical and propriety research data, and accelerating laboratory and R&D projects.

The CENS Consortium is contracting with software and hardware vendors to continued construct applications and tools for mission-critical R&D team computing construct systems with complete collaborative electronic laboratory notebooks. Later this year, and into 2000, the CENS Consortium will be releasing a series of Requests For Proposals (RFPs) and detailed functional specifications for electronic notebook systems, application integration frameworks and tools, and specialized applications for scientific and technical purposes.

Circle 309

TECAN AG: Industry Update

TECAN AG (Hombrechtikon, Switzerland), has added new features to the Columbus microplate washer, to make it a fully automated system. The washer is designed for medium throughput laboratories, where the choice of washing any single well strip or whole microplates is essential. The Columbus offers a selection of 8, 12, or 16 channel manifold and up to four different wash buffers. Aspiration and dispensing are not pressurized, so any bottle can be used for liquids without having air-leakage problems. Columbus can add buffer in drips rather than a jet, and perform either overflow or bottom washing. The Columbus is programmed by Windows™ software or via built-in keyboard and display, offering storage of up to 30 wash-protocols. Optional extras include a barcode detection system, fill verification, wash liquid levels, and aerosol detection which aspirates vapors away from the plate during washing.

Columbus microplate washer

TECAN's GENESIS Robotic Sample Processor (RSP) can prepare DNA, pipette PCR amplification reaction mixes and load gels automatically, and be fitted with a combination of both disposable and steel tips. This product is useful for laboratories involved in HLA typing, PCR use, agarose and gel blotting. HLA typing is best achieved by dividing the GENESIS RSP worktable into two parts with DNA preparation and PCR loading carried out on one side and electrophoresis and dot-blotting on the other. Loaded PCR racks can be manually moved from the worktable for thermal cycling and then replaced for gel loading.

GENESIS Robotic Sample Processor

TECAN announces the success of TRAC in Japan. TRAC, TECAN's Robotic Assay Composer provides high throughput RIA, FIA, ELISA, and SPA screening, and offers a virtually limitless plate capacity. The system handles many compounds logistics, such as unattended preparation and distribution applications. Since the end of 1996, 20 TRAC systems have been shipped to Japan, with slightly more than one per month being installed during 1997. The TRAC systems are being used in over 14 different large companies, including Novartis, Pfizer, Glaxo, Fujisawa, and Ashai—with many companies having more than one system.

TRAC - Tecan Robotic Assay Composer

Circle 310

Caliper Technologies Team With Oak Ridge National Laboratories on a $1.4 Million Proteomics Grant

Intelligent Medical Imaging, Inc., Reports First Quarter Results From Financial Relations Board

Intelligent Medical Imaging, Inc., (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) announced May 14, 1998 the first quarter results of operations (Ending March 31, 1998). Revenues for 1998 were $1,042,298 compared with $841,705 for the same period last year, an increase of 26.7%.

	1998	1997
Sales	$1,042,298	$841,705
Cost of sales	761,292	406,243
	281,006	435,462
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative	2,349,725	1,494,638
Research and development	1,417,025	716,184
Total operating expenses	3,766,750	2,210,822
Loss from operations Other income:	(3,485,744)	(1,775,360)
Investment and interest income	68,158	306,857
Net income	3,417.586	1,468,503
Loss per common share-basic and diluted	($0.34)	($0.13)
Weighted average common shares outstanding	10,025,640	10,902,766

On June 15, 1998, Caliper Technologies Corporation (Palo Alto, CA) announced its collaboration with scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories to develop high throughput laboratory-on-a-chip to perform proteomics analysis on Caliper's LabChip™ platform. The 1.4 million dollar Department of Energy grant, titled “Comprehensive Cellular Protein Analysis Using Microfluidic Devices Coupled to Mass Spectroscopy,” is targeted at developing extremely rapid two-dimensional protein separation systems coupled to mass spectrometry to facilitate the unequivocal identification of proteins in a cell. To further develop this proteomics program and broaden the capabilities of Caliper's microfluidics technology, Caliper founder and key technologist Mike Ramsey, Ph.D., and Oak Ridge scientist Rose Ramsey, Ph.D., have joined the Caliper team through a one-year sabbatical from Oak Ridge.

Circle 311

Becton Dickinson Announces BIOCOAT® Collagen I and Poly-D-Lysine 96-well White Plates with Opaque Bottoms

Becton Dickinson (Bedford, MA), announces the availability of BIOCOAT® Collagen I and Poly-D-Lysine 96-well White Plates with Opaque Bottoms, ideal for use in cell-based bioluminescence and chemiluminescence assays. The white opaque walls increase assay discrimination by reducing well-to-well cross talk. Plates can be used in a variety of luminometers, including the LumiCount™ from Packard Instrument Company and the MLX™ from Dynex Technologies. Uniform applications of Collagen I and PDL improve the attachment of transfected cell lines. When BIOCOAT Collagen I or PDL Plates are used, cells remain firmly attached to the vessel, even during vigorous washing steps that often cause these cells to detach from their substances.

Circle 312

Abbott Laboratories introduces New Benchtop Clinical Chemistry Systems

On June 16, 1998, Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL), introduced the Alcyon™ 300 and Alcyon™ 300i clinical chemistry systems. These systems are designed for routine and special chemistry testing at laboratories running fewer than 1,000 tests per day or 100,000 tests annually. Both analyzers feature a 49-assay menu of liquid, ready-to-use reagents, an automated cuvette handler, 228 on-board cuvette capacity, 39 sample holders accommodating all common sizes of primary tubes, 24 reagent positions with on-board reagent cooling, and the ability to process up to 300 photometric tests per hour. The Alcyon™ 300i adds an integrated ISE (chloride, potassium, sodium) module. The time to first test result is between 3 and 6 minutes.

Circle 313

CRS and Packard Instrument Company Announce Life Sciences Technology Collaboration

On June 16, 1998, (Burlington, Canada) CRS Robotics (TSE: ROB) and Packard Instrument Company announced their agreement to establish a cooperative program to combine their respective technologies for automation of life science research applications. The goal of the collaboration is to develop automated application solutions for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets in areas such as genomics and drug metabolism based on Packard instruments and CRS laboratory automation software and robots. The collaboration is designed to bring about software compatibility between CRS's POLARA software used world-wide for integrating laboratory automation systems and Packard's MultiPROBEII pipetting workstation. The companies will announce specific application configurations as they are developed.

Circle 314