Robotics and proteomics: A promising partnership for biomarker discovery

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scientists at CLIPP (Clinical Innovation Proteomic Platform) use two of Tecan’s Freedom EVO® platforms to automate sample preparation for a biomarker discovery project based at the Hospital and Cancer Center in Dijon, France. Dr Patrick Ducoroy leads CLIPP, and explained the role of automation in the project: “High sample numbers and throughput are of paramount importance to us in order to identify good, robust biomarkers for investigation. It is also vitally important to standardize procedures and treatment of samples and, in the early discovery phase, stringent quality control is a must. Quite simply, automation is essential to achieve all these objectives.”

 

“Our workstations are fully integrated with one another, maximizing automation and standardization of the sample preparation. A Freedom EVO 200 aliquots samples into 96-well microplates, then transfers these plates to a Freedom EVO 100 for protein and peptide purification, allowing us to process 96 patient samples for mass spectrometry in just one hour. Ultimately we are aiming for a thousand samples a week, and Tecan’s technology will be central to us achieving this goal. We have had very good support from Tecan, particularly in modifying the parameters of the workstations. I am sure this has helped us to achieve such excellent reproducibility of results, with the high throughput that we need.”

 

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVO liquid handling workstations, visit www.tecan.com/proteinscience

 

 

 

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About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics, and clinical diagnostics. The company specializes in the development, production and distribution of automation solutions for laboratories in the life sciences sector. With its subsidiary REMP (www.remp.com), Tecan is the market leader in automated laboratory storage and logistics systems. Its clients include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments and diagnostic laboratories. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both North America and Europe and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2008, Tecan generated sales of CHF 396 million (USD 366.7 million; EUR 250.7 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TK: TECN/Reuters: TECZn.S/Swiss security number: 1210019).