MatriCal unveils high-throughput sonication system
European compound management market with versions that can handle
384- as well as 96-well microwell plate formats.
Sonication has been used for many years to disrupt cells, shear proteins and DNA, and to dissolve small organic molecules. But until the launch of the SomicMan in May 2004 there was no high throughput solution to the problem of frozen compounds precipitating upon thawing, rather than remaining suspended in solution.
Compound management guru Chris Lipinski of Pfizer Global R&D notes that up to 40 per cent of the compounds stored in the compound libraries of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are precipitated upon freeze thaw, the usual method of storage and reconstitution.
"Prior to the SonicMan, there was no high throughput method available to ensure these compounds are in solution - heating is not allowed due to fear of compound decomposition and shaking does not work due to high surface tension in the plate well," he said.
The SonicMan uses sound waves to drive compounds back into solution. Pins insert through the lid and into the sample contained within the plate. A sonic horn is brought into contact with the lid and the sonic energy is transferred into the sample. As scientists are highly conscious of cross contamination, the lid has been developed as a disposable part.
The product is being used in a diverse range of applications, including resuspending stored compounds in high-throughput screening; resolubilising compounds in synthesis; shearing genomic data into small fragments for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification; extracting target proteins, RNA/DNA, and enzymes via after cell lysis and membrane disruption; mixing low volume assays; driving sonochemical reactions; and transfecting eukaryotic cells.
MatriCal was recently awarded a $852,000 grant from the US National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to further develop the SonicMan.
