Murthy Tal V, Kroncke Doug, Bonin Paul D
Applications Laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hudson, NH 03051, USA.
J Lab Autom. 2011 Jun;16(3):221-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jala.2010.08.006. Epub 2011 Apr 2.
Miniaturizing experimental sample volumes to the nanoliter volume range is one of the most economical ways to perform mid- and high-throughput compound screening experiments. Existing automation platforms for nanoliter fluid handling can be bulky, expensive, and require periodic calibration to provide consistent liquid dispensing. In addition, even with frequent calibration, significant instrument-to-instrument variation in low-volume dispensing can occur between different instrument platforms. Many of these issues can be addressed by the use of PocketTips. PocketTips are tips with a defined internal pocket designed to hold specific nanoliter volumes of compound dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide. Although the overall liquid-handling process with PocketTips uses the aspirate/dispense features of the specific liquid-handling device being used, the dispensed nanoliter volume is solely based on the dimensions of the pocket of the PocketTip and thus, the liquid-handling device itself need not have nanoliter dispensing capabilities. In this report, we demonstrate the performance of PocketTips on different automation platforms. In addition, we used a cell-based ß-lactamase reporter assay system to demonstrate that compound delivery by PocketTips compares favorably with a standard compound addition technique.
将实验样品体积缩小至纳升体积范围是进行中高通量化合物筛选实验最经济的方法之一。现有的用于纳升流体处理的自动化平台可能体积庞大、价格昂贵，并且需要定期校准以实现一致的液体分配。此外，即使频繁校准，不同仪器平台之间在低体积分配方面仍可能出现显著的仪器间差异。使用PocketTips可以解决许多此类问题。PocketTips是带有特定内部口袋的吸头，设计用于容纳溶解在二甲基亚砜中的特定纳升体积的化合物。尽管使用PocketTips的整个液体处理过程利用了所使用的特定液体处理设备的吸取/分配功能，但分配的纳升体积仅基于PocketTips口袋的尺寸，因此，液体处理设备本身不必具备纳升分配能力。在本报告中，我们展示了PocketTips在不同自动化平台上的性能。此外，我们使用基于细胞的β-内酰胺酶报告基因检测系统来证明，PocketTips进行的化合物递送与标准化合物添加技术相比具有优势。
