Synopsis An automated robotic system for protein streak seeding is described, which uses novel silicon microtools in place of the commonly used boar bristles.Abstract This report presents a new approach to streak seeding based on custom-designed silicon microtools. Experimental data shows that the microtools produce similar results to the commonly-used boar bristles. One advantage to using silicon is that it is rigid and can easily serve as an accurately calibrated end-effector on a microrobotic system. Additionally, the fabrication technology allows for the production of microtools of various shapes and sizes. A working prototype of an automatic streak seeding system based on these microtools was built and successfully applied for protein crystallization.

No abstract