Automated pipetting

As an important part of modern laboratory technology, automated pipetting is gradually changing the cumbersomeness and inefficiency of traditional experimental operations. With the rapid development of science and technology, scientific researchers have increasingly higher requirements for experimental accuracy and efficiency, and automated pipetting technology has emerged, bringing unprecedented convenience and efficiency to the laboratory. This technology not only greatly reduces the labor intensity of experimenters, but also significantly improves the accuracy and repeatability of experiments, providing strong support for the development and innovation of scientific research.

1. Definition and advantages of automated pipetting Automated pipetting refers to the process of accurately and quickly transferring liquid from one container to another through automated equipment or systems. Compared with traditional manual pipetting, automated pipetting has significant advantages: 1. Improved efficiency: Automatic pipetting can complete a large number of pipetting operations continuously and quickly, significantly improving work efficiency. 2. Reduce errors: Automated equipment can effectively reduce errors caused by human operations by accurately controlling parameters such as pipetting volume, pipetting speed, and pipetting time. 3. Reduce labor intensity: Experimenters do not need to perform cumbersome manual pipetting operations, which helps reduce labor intensity and reduce the risk of occupational injuries. 4. Enhance experimental repeatability: The automated pipetting process is stable and reliable, helping to enhance the repeatability of experimental results.

2. Types of automated pipetting equipment Common automated pipetting equipment includes electronic pipettes, multi-head pipettes, liquid handling stations and fully automatic pipetting workstations. Each of these devices has its own characteristics and is suitable for different experimental needs: 1. Electronic pipette: It has digital display and precise control functions, and is suitable for precise pipetting of small volumes of liquid. 2. Multi-head pipette: It can perform pipetting operations on multiple channels at the same time and is suitable for high-throughput experiments. 3. Liquid handling station: It integrates multiple functions such as pipetting, mixing, and dispensing, and is suitable for complex liquid handling processes. 4. Fully automatic pipetting workstation: Highly automated experimental equipment that can automatically complete high-precision liquid processing tasks such as gradient dilution, pipetting, and merging liquids.

3. Working principle and technical characteristics of automated pipetting 1. Automatic pipetting equipment usually uses the air displacement principle to realize pipetting operations. Its working principle is roughly as follows: (1) When the piston moves upward driven by the motor, the air pressure in the injection tube drops to negative pressure, and the liquid outside the tip end enters the inside of the tip under the action of atmospheric pressure. (2) When the piston moves downward, the air in the injection tube is squeezed, and the pressure increases, which is indirectly transmitted to the liquid, causing the liquid inside the suction head to be discharged. 2. In terms of technical characteristics, automated pipetting equipment focuses on the following aspects: (1) High-precision control: using advanced control algorithms and high-precision electronic equipment to ensure precise control of the pipetting volume. (2) Stability: Ensure the stable operation of the equipment in different environments through technical means such as temperature and humidity control. (3) Automated operation: Automatically runs according to the program set by the user, without manual intervention, reducing human errors. (4) Real-time monitoring and data processing: Real-time monitoring and data recording of the pipetting process to facilitate subsequent data analysis and report writing.

4. Automated pipetting products 1. opentrons OT-2 automated pipetting robot (1) Overview: OT-2 is a desktop-level automated pipetting platform with the characteristics of hardware modularity, flexibility and customization, and can realize many common applications of automation. (2) Product features: The plate position is modular and can be freely combined according to needs. It can be equipped with opentrons supporting functional modules to achieve temperature control, magnetic bead extraction, thermal oscillation, PCR and other functional consumables. It has strong compatibility and is compatible with any ANSI/SLAS standard. The laboratory equipment program is flexible and user-friendly. It provides an online protocol editor that can be used from scratch and provides a large number of popular online application resources. The program is open source and can be used to develop more application processes with Python API. 2. opentrons Flex fully automatic pipetting workstation (1) Overview: Flex is a new technological breakthrough of opentrons in the field of laboratory automation. It has high flexibility and wide applicability, and can better adapt to the experimental process. (2) Main advantages: fully automatic transfer plate gripper, efficient transfer plate with 96 channels of high-precision pipetting, 7-inch LCD touch screen system with increased throughput, easy operation opentrons open source ecosystem, and support for AI-empowered laboratory automation 3. opentrons transfer Liquid pipette (1) Overview: opentrons pipettes include single-channel and eight-channel specifications, which can accurately transfer liquids. (2) Core parameters: Degree of automation: Number of channels of electric pipette: single channel, eight channels (Flex high-precision pipettes also provide 1/8/96 channels to choose from) Measuring range: 1μL-1000μL (Flex high-precision pipette Liquid containers also cover this range)

As an important part of modern laboratories, automated pipetting technology is bringing unprecedented convenience to scientific researchers with its high efficiency, accuracy and reliability. From basic liquid handling to complex experimental processes, automated pipetting equipment can easily handle everything, greatly improving laboratory work efficiency and the quality of research results. In this field, opentrons, with its rich product line and technical strength, provides laboratories with a variety of automated pipetting solutions. Whether you need a basic pipette or a full-featured fully automated pipetting workstation, opentrons can meet your needs. If you have any questions or interest in opentrons' automated pipetting products, please feel free to contact us and we will wholeheartedly provide you with professional consultation and services.