High-throughput Manual Pipetting System Plays Key Genomics Role

As part of the International Barcode of Life Project, the largest biodiversity genomics initiative ever undertaken, the Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (CCDB) has chosen Mettler Toledo and its Rainin Liquidator 96 to fulfill fundamental roles in numerous liquid handling procedures required to process DNA samples.

Manual control of aspiration and dispensing, as well as the instrument’s flexible working platforms, helps the lab achieve the precision and processing speed it requires.

“The Liquidator 96 system allows you to control the pipetting speed for slow aspiration and dispensing. You can also change volumes in a single motion and move to the next step without interruption. This prevents the introduction of air bubbles and contamination,” said Dr. Natalia Ivanova, lead DNA scientist, CCDB.

Avoiding rework is critical, because the CCDB processes about 300,000 samples per year from animal, plant and fungal sources following a typical DNA extraction and PCR amplification workflow.

Between twenty and forty 96-well sample plates per day are handled using the Liquidator 96.

The Liquidator is used for DNA extraction, DNA amplification using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle sequencing, PCR reaction set up and cycle sequencing product cleanup.

Four working platforms allow easy movement between samples in process.

To see a free, four-part video series on the use of Liquidator 96 by the CCDB and see how this manual system is significantly enhancing sensitive genomics workflow throughput, visit www.mt.com/Liquidator-CCDB.