Tecan automation greatly increases speed of protein complex production

 

ACEMBL is the first fully automatable pipeline for the production of multi-protein complexes, developed by researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) on the Freedom EVO® platform from Tecan. This system makes it possible to perform experiments that were previously unthinkable using manual methods and has great potential for revealing currently unknown molecular mechanisms of health and disease that could be vital in drug discovery.

 

Dr Imre Berger, group leader, explained: “Automation is the essential solution for protein complex expression and production, when many-fold variation in the individual proteins is required for experimental success. With a robot, many experiments can be performed simultaneously and in parallel, with a precision that is unattainable manually. We use a Freedom EVO 200 platform with three identical liquid handling modules and, additionally, a sterile, covered compartment for growing cell cultures.”
    
 “The two main advantages of automation are diversification and throughput. Research and optimization of the procedures are ongoing; we aim to produce a routine and robust high throughput application with several automated platforms running in parallel, repeating the ACEMBL procedure many thousands of times with up to 95 % efficiency.” Imre concluded: “We are continuously in contact with Tecan, which is a collaboration of mutual benefit. We have an excellent working relationship and often have discussions for method development.”

 

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVO, visit www.tecan.com/freedomevo 

 

 

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 instruments and automated workflow 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, forensic and diagnostic laboratories. As an original equipment manufacturer, Tecan is also a leader in developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components that are then distributed by partner companies. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both Europe and North America and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2009, Tecan generated sales of CHF 392 million (USD 361.2 million; EUR 259.6 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange (TK: TECN/Reuters: TECZn.S/ ISIN CH0012100191).

 

 

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