oKtopure– fullyautomatedDNAextraction
Anexampleof successful laboratoryautomation is theoKtopureDNA
extraction robot fromLGCGenomics inEngland. Thishigh-techplatform
accelerates cultivationprogrammesandmanyothermolecular biology
processes thanks tostandardisedDNAextraction fromplant leaf andseed
tissue, animal tissue, hair andblood. Thesystemsupports theparallel
purificationof 8 x96Deepwell plates.
Thisenables5,000samplesaday tobeprocessed. Thehigh level of auto-
mation is thanks toahandlingsystem from Festo,whichwasdeveloped
in close cooperationwithLGC. The requiredhighprecision for the three-
dimensional gantry ismadepossibleby theelectric toothedbelt axesEGC
on theX- andY-axes. ThedoubleZ-axisEGSKwithspindledriveensures
exact positioningof thedispensinghead. The three-dimensional gantry
for liquidhandling from Festo issuppliedasa completesystem; thedrive
and controller package ispre-parameterised.
over andover againeveryday, suchas
openingsamplevials. Becauseeven the
tiniest quantitiesof samplematerial are
sufficient for analysispurposes, sample
vialsarebecomingsmaller,making them
moredifficult toopenbyhand. Theerrors
that canoccurwhenhandlingsamples
manuallyareminimisedbyusingauto
mationprocesses.Thesameapplies to the
riskof sample contamination.
An innovative laboratoryplatform from
Festoshowswhat the futureof laboratory
automationmight look like.Ninemodules
demonstrate theentireprocesssequence,
from thepre-analysis to theanalytical pro-
cessand then thepost-analysis. This in-
cludes theautomatedhandlingof individ-
ual samplevials that are removed fromor
added to thesample carrier, theopening
and closingof samplevialsand the re
moval andadditionof liquids in themilli
litre,microlitreandsub-microlitre range.
Dosingprecisionaswell as themodularity,
flexibilityandexpandabilityof thesystem
are themain focus throughout theprocess
“TheoKtopure is the result of successful
collaboration. Bothsidesbenefited from
oneanother’sknowledge.”
Paul Kendall, Electronic Light AssemblyClusterTeam, FestoEngland
