Implementing automated nucleic acid purification or making changes to your high-throughput (HT) workflow can be complicated and time-consuming. There are also many barriers to success such as challenging samples types and maintaining desirable downstream results that can add to the stress, not to mention actually getting the robotic instrumentation to do what you want it to. All of this makes it easy to understand why many labs avoid automating or own expensive instrumentation that goes unused.
Inevitably, if your lab is successful and growing, you will need to include (or modify) HT purification in your workflow. Maybe you need to purify a lot of samples to get downstream results faster, without sacrificing quality. Perhaps you’re experiencing too many failures or inconsistencies within your current workflow. It could be that you have to integrate a new sample type or optimize your purification on a different instrument.
While there are HT purification kits out there with effective protocols, they are often optimized for one instrument and sample type. This leaves you with the onerous task of tailoring the method to the needs of your lab—which can take up the time you need to complete your normal lab duties. So the question is, can you manage to take on the additional work of optimizing a new purification method?
At this point, many labs long for the resources to bring in an expert to complete the automation work and avoid diverting time away from the real work of the lab. Is it possible to get the assistance you need and avoid sacrificing all of your time and energy to create an HT purification solution?
The Field Support Scientists (FSS) at Promega are can provide the support you need to get started with automation or optimize your current HT workflow. Our team of automation experts can offer assistance with most of the leading laboratory automation providers in the world and help you develop and implement an automated nucleic acid purification solution on a variety of sample types and instrumentation platforms customized to the needs of your laboratory.
When you request a consultation with our team of automation experts, it will begin a series of conversations designed to deeply understand the unique needs of your lab. Our team will draft a Statement of Work proposal to ensure we are aligned with your needs. Then we’ll schedule our onsite implementation work to best fit your schedule. When you work with our custom HT purification support team, the wide range of benefits will be apparent from the start.
We’ll help you choose an instrument that meets your needs or make sure you current instrument is working properly. The support team will work with you on-site to develop a customized purification protocol and analyze data to systematically investigate and correct issues during development, greatly decreasing implementation time. In addition, you will receive customized training associated with new protocols to ensure you and your staff are confident with the new process. We also offer ongoing consultation and assistance for troubleshooting and improving laboratory efficiency.
Here are two examples of custom purification solutions the FSS team helped develop with customers:
Case Study 1: Plasmid Prep
Innate Pharma develops therapeutic antibodies and part of the workflow requires processing many samples. They needed an automated process for plasmid preps that would work on a Tecan EVO 200 system. In order to effectively transfect cells, the plasmid purification needed to be developed at a midiprep scale.
Our team helped the customer develop a protocol for their Tecan EVO 200 system that could automate plasmid preps from 30ml of bacterial culture and provide a return of >100 µg of plasmid. After testing plasmid samples in the workflow, all of their criteria were met and the solution became part of Innate Pharma’s workflow.
Case Study 2: FFPE DNA Extraction
A customer who sequences FFPE samples from several types of cancers to study immuno-oncology, was experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of samples processed. Their manual FFPE kit could not keep up with demand and they wanted to reduce the probability of human error. They decided to automate sample processing on the KingFisher™ Flex in a 96-well format. They needed a purification system suitable for high throughput extraction that provided the highest yields of amplifiable DNA.
This customer initially tested the Maxwell® HT DNA FFPE Isolation System using a Maxwell® RSC Instrument and found that it gave the best performance in their sequencing workflow. Then our team developed a protocol for the 96-well KingFisher™ Flex and demonstrated performance in the customer’s lab. After running samples through their complete sequencing pipeline, the customer performed verification experiments and adopted the Maxwell® HT FFPE DNA Isolation System for their regular workflow.
If you want to learn more about Maxwell® HT Nucleic Acid Purification, view our webinar, “Simplifying HT Nucleic Acid Purification with Expert Automation Support” or click here to request a consult.
Want to know more about how the Maxwell® RSC can give you the freedom to focus on the work that interests you the most? To learn more, click here.
Latest posts by Darcia Schweitzer (see all)
- Cytochrome P450 Inhibition: Old Drug, New Tricks - May 5, 2022
- Firefly Luciferase Sheds Light on Development of New Malaria Treatments - April 5, 2021
- How to Train Your Instrument Service Team in a Pandemic - February 1, 2021
