Adapting a Low-Cost and Open-Source Commercial Pipetting Robot for Nanoliter Liquid Handling

Councill, E Enoch A W; Axtell, Nathanial B; Truong, Thy; Liang, Yiran; Aposhian, Adam L; Webber, Kei G I; Zhu, Ying; Cong, Yongzheng; Carson, Richard H.

doi:10.1177/2472630320973591

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…10, 25, 100, and 1000 μL target volumes resulted in 7–11, 23–27, 98–101, and 998–1002 μL samples, respectively (Fig. 3a ), similar to manual pipetting and other robots 7 , 10 , 27 – 30 . The resulting volumes varied from the target volume by ± 2 μL regardless of the target volume, suggesting droplet retention at the pipet tip rather than pump inaccuracies as the source of this variation (see below).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Liquid handling robots have the potential to automate many procedures in life sciences. However, they are not in widespread use in academic settings, where funding, space and maintenance specialists are usually limiting. In addition, current robots require lengthy programming by specialists and are incompatible with most academic laboratories with constantly changing small-scale projects. Here, we present the Pipetting Helper Imaging Lid (PHIL), an inexpensive, small, open-source personal liquid handling robot. It is designed for inexperienced users, with self-production from cheap commercial and 3D-printable components and custom control software. PHIL successfully automates pipetting (incl. aspiration) for e.g. tissue immunostainings and stimulations of live stem and progenitor cells during time-lapse microscopy using 3D printed peristaltic pumps. PHIL is cheap enough to put a personal pipetting robot within the reach of most labs and enables users without programming skills to easily automate a large range of experiments.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…2b), similar to manual pipetting and other robots. 7,10,[27][28][29][30] The resulting volumes varied from the target volume by +/-2 μ L regardless of the target volume, suggesting droplet retention at the pipet tip rather than pump inaccuracies as the source of this variation (see below). When testing the impact of pumping speed on accuracy, resulting volumes were within 1-2% of the target volume for 10, 25, and 50 µL/s.…”

Section: Robust Media Exchange In Multi-well Plates Via Automated Pipettingmentioning

confidence: 97%

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

Dettinger

Kull

Arekatla

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Liquid handling robots have the potential to automate many procedures in life sciences. However, they are not in widespread use in academic settings, where funding, space and maintenance specialists are usually limiting. In addition, current robots require lengthy programming by specialists and are incompatible with most academic laboratories with constantly changing small-scale projects. Here, we present the Pipetting Helper Imaging Lid (PHIL), an inexpensive, small, open-source personal liquid handling robot. It is designed for inexperienced users, with self-production from cheap commercial and 3D-printable components and custom control software. PHIL successfully automated pipetting for e.g. tissue immunostainings and stimulations of live stem and progenitor cells during time-lapse microscopy. PHIL is cheap enough for any laboratory member to have their own personal pipetting robot(s), and enables users without programming skills to easily automate a large range of experiments.

show abstract

“…Lastly, it is critical to highlight that the devices need to be able to adapt and be reconfigured as per changing user requirements. This has a massive beneficial impact on research and, successful examples of such application adjustments are already available: Opentrons' OT-1 was modified to manipulate nanolitre-scale volumes (50 nL) with less than 3% error [47] and an OT-2 was fitted with a mobile and custom-made microscope to automate imaging [48]. Before any research application is automated, the impact of the utilisation of a liquid handling device can be analysed by assessing scheduling and task completion [37].…”

Section: Specific Applications Of Lhdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated liquid-handling operations for robust, resilient, and efficient bio-based laboratory practices

Torres‐Acosta

Lye

Dikicioglu

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Increase in the adoption of liquid handling devices (LHD) can facilitate experimental activities. Initially adopted by businesses and industry-based laboratories, the practice has also moved to academic environments, where a wide range of non-standard/non-typical experiments can be performed. Current protocols or laboratory analyses require researchers to transfer liquids for the purpose of dilution, mixing, or inoculation, among other operations. LHD can render laboratories more efficient by performing more experiments per unit of time, by making operations robust and resilient against external factors and unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by remote operation. The present work reviews literature that reported the adoption and utilisation of LHD available in the market and presents examples of their practical use. Applications demonstrate the critical role of automation in research development and its ability to reduce human intervention in the experimental workflow. Ultimately, this work will provide guidance to academic researchers to determine which LHD can fulfil their needs and how to exploit their use in both conventional and non-conventional applications. Furthermore, the breadth of applications and the scarcity of academic institutions involved in research and development that utilise these devices highlights an important area of opportunity for shift in technology to maximize research outcomes.

show abstract

Adapting a Low-Cost and Open-Source Commercial Pipetting Robot for Nanoliter Liquid Handling

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

Open-source personal pipetting robots with live-cell incubation and microscopy compatibility

Automated liquid-handling operations for robust, resilient, and efficient bio-based laboratory practices

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About