New colony picker from Genetix
boring, repetitive and error-prone jobs in the lab, and there has
been a strong desire to automate the process.
Although the first automated systems for this purpose appeared as long ago as the 1970s, there are increasing demands for high-throughput machines for laboratories handling large volumes of samples.
With this in mind, Genetix of the UK has added a new instrument to its range of QPix machines designed to pick colonies of bacterial or mammalian cells off agar-filled petri dishes or QTrays and inoculate them into 96- and 384-well plates.
These machines use the same basic colony-picking process as any rival product on the market. The plate is first imaged and colonies localised using a camera. Colonies are then poked by pins, which are used to inoculate the plates. Finally, the pins are sterilised using ultraviolet light, and picking begins again.
The QPix2XT has been specifically designed for high-throughput genomics, as well as use in labs that have to handle a range of applications in protein and protein supply.
In essence the QPix2XT is very similar to its cousins in the range, offering the same maximum 4,600 colonies per hour picking rate. However, it sports an extended bed length that can handle two input source Qtray plates (rather than one with the original QPix2) or 8-10 Petri dishes positioned in holders (compared to five in the standard model).
The QPix2XT also has a range of optional modules to extend its functionality, including: a module for high throughput gridding, replicating and re-arraying; a phage module offering automated detection, measurement and picking of phage plates in soft agar; and a Yeast-2-hybrid module automating the detection of protein interactions.
Genetix also offers another system, called the MegaPix2, which has an ultra-high-throughput capacity.
