Introduction
One of the key laboratory processes in drug discovery is High Throughput Screening. High Throughput Screening enables laboratories to create leads which allow for faster medicine discovery and possible development. In principle it uses various compound libraries that can be rapidly utilized on different biological samples. The use of automation has given a significant boost to the screening process, allowing for a completed workflow from input to output. Thereby limiting any human interference which might lead to unfavourable deviations. Plates are generally filled with cell lines or other enzymes. Different compounds are added to these biological samples after which they are analysed by plate readers or high content microscopes to see if there is a response. Responses to specific compounds are called hits, these hits can be further tested in repeated studies to see whether it can be confirmed on a larger scale as well, and judged if the responses are beneficial.
Application purpose
The platform is equipped with various tools to eliminate unnecessary dead volumes. By using a liquid handler or acoustic dispensers, dead volumes can be eliminated to a great extent in the automation process. Besides the liquid handling steps, several washers are available to wash any cell cultures allowing for extended monitoring and the growing of cell cultures. Several incubation storages are also available, including a -20oC freezer for compound storage and 37oC for cell culture incubation. The whole platform is situated in a biosafety level II cabinet which provides the best protection against harmful chemicals and also protects your assays against possible contamination.
Why you should choose this solution
High Throughput Screening involves many different steps, each one just as critical as the other. Manually carrying out pipetting steps increases the chance of making errors and introducing other possible variation. With the help of automation, these are taken out of the equation. Having a robot arm carry out all of the steps also decreases the risk of exposing operators to harmful chemicals. By using our PlateButler software, the whole process can be carefully monitored and corrected if necessary.
Key features
- Connected: easily connect PlateButler to your LIMS system to keep track of the platform.
- Flexible: excute and run different assay parallel on the platfom.
- Walk away: start your run with minimal human interference over multiple days/weeks.