Beckman Coulter highlights workflow solutions at LabAutomation 2011

Beckman Coulter featured seamless, automated workflow solutions and improvements in throughput and cellular analysis at the LabAutomation 2011 conference in Palm Springs, California. In addition to workshops and scientific posters, the exhibit showcased applications and systems dedicated to next generation sequencing (NGS) sample preparation, stem cell research, assay screening miniaturization and more.

Beckman Coulter presented two workshops for conference attendees entitled Next Generation Sequencing Sample Prep Solutions: Beckman Coulter’s Continuum of Solutions for Manual to High-Throughput NGS Sample Prep Processing which details how high-throughput NGS sample preparation workflow improves results and saves time. Prof. J. Paul Robinson of Purdue University presented Automated Stem Cell Workflow Processes and Analysis by Flow Cytometry that detailed how cellular growth, maintenance and differentiation benefit from automation and experiments designed to enhance development of specific cell lineages.

A series of Beckman Coulter poster sessions presented by researchers and product development specialists which explained the role of technology in the development of high-value assays were presented. There were entitled: cAMP Assay Using Spatial Proximity Analyte Reagent Capture Luminescence (SPARCL*) Technology; Automated Optimization of Murine Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation into Cardiomyocytes; and Analysis of Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells by Automated Flow Cytometry Sample Preparation on the Biomek NXP Workstation.

The company’s exhibit featured integrated platforms used in the work presented in the workshops and posters and enabled conference attendees to get first-hand information on how the systems can integrate into their laboratories. Workstations that were displayed include a system for Roche 454 next generation sequencing sample prep featuring SPRIWorks II and a Biomek system with REM e (a liquid handler that automates PCR enrichment); a stem cell differentiation, identification and characterization platform utilizing the Biomek NXP system, a HyperCyt Autosampler* and a Gallios cytometer for high throughput flow cytometry; and other productivity enhancing research laboratory systems.

Another highlight of the exhibit was Beckman Coulter Genomics’ SPRIworks Fragment Library System III, that automates the preparation of libraries for the SOLiD* Sequencer. With the introduction of this third system in the series, researchers can use the SPRIworks systems to automate library preparation for the three major next generation sequencing platforms. SPRIworks Fragment Library System I for the Illumina* Genome Analyzer, the initial product in the SPRIworks series, won the New Product Award designation from the Association for Laboratory Automation at the 2010 LabAutomation Conference.

Three new pipette tips that can be used in a range of applications on the company’s Biomek FXP, NXP and 3000 workstations were also displayed at the conference. The tips, in environmentally responsible packaging, are certified to be free of DNA (human and mouse), RNase and DNase, pyrogens/endotoxins and trace metals, and will be available in pre-sterilized, pre-sterilized with barrier and non-sterile versions. The tips were designed in Beckman Coulter’s new Discovery Center of Excellence in Indianapolis, a facility that houses global marketing, product management, product development and support organizations for the discovery and automation business.