Festo advances high-throughput automated pipetting with closed-loop management

Festo introduces the DHOP closed-loop pipette head for high-speed robotic pipetting purposes requiring constant volumes over a variety of liquid viscosities. The DHOP pipette head offers the utmost in automation flexibility, pace, and suggestions when units deal with many liquids.

The DHOP closed-loop pipette head offers the utmost in automation flexibility, pace, and suggestions when utilizing many liquids. Picture Credit score: Festo

Based mostly on Festo’s modern air-over-liquid fluid dealing with system, the DHOP pipette ensures that aspiration and allotting are impartial of viscosity. By measuring the stress change when a liquid is aspirated or distributed, the gadget is ready to calibrate for various viscosities with out person enter. Sooner changeover between liquids results in increased throughput and most gadget utilization.

Purposes for this closed-loop pipette head embody pre-analytical pattern preparation of affected person samples, the place liquid properties of the pattern would possibly change affected person to affected person. Festo Life Science personnel work with OEMs from inception to implementation, which brings merchandise to market quicker, with much less engineering overhead and danger. 

The DHOP closed-loop pipette head seamlessly integrates with Festo’s world-class mechatronic methods, together with the brand new EXCL multi-axis gantry that lowers engineering, acquisition, and meeting prices whereas rising machine capabilities.

Within the Festo air-over-pressure system, liquid aspirates into the disposable tip utilizing vacuum and dispenses utilizing stress. The DHOP is suitable with the brand new PGVA-2 stress and vacuum generator, a compact answer for laboratories with out a central compressed air provide. A single PGVA-2, which permits the stress provide to be centralized, can function as much as 8 DHOP. Festo designs its parts, such because the EXCL, PGVA-2, pipettes, and different parts, to interoperate, which reduces engineering and lowers danger.      

The DHOP is suitable with the simply launched DHAP disposable pipette suggestions. DHAP disposable suggestions forestall contamination when dealing with totally different liquids as a result of a brand new tip is robotically used for each pipetting course of. Selecting, sensing, and ejecting – the whole automated dealing with course of for disposable suggestions – is built-in into the DHOP pipette-head system.

DHOP offers the management system with suggestions on each pipetted quantity for traceability and high quality assurance. The inner controller adjusts the goal quantity and returns the achieved worth to the controller. Strain-based liquid degree detection previous to aspiration ensures most precision. Any foam on the floor is ignored in degree detection. The liquid velocity is adjusted by altering the stress on the system; this permits for mushy allotting with delicate media or higher droplet separation with small volumes.

DHOP benefits embody:

• A single product for the whole quantity vary
• Most precision by means of closed-loop management
• Clever features corresponding to liquid degree detection and a number of allotting
• Full dealing with course of for the disposable suggestions, from detecting tip attachment to automated ejection
• Simple commissioning with built-in WebGUI
• Simple integration with Festo mechatronic methods for an entire microfluidics answer 

Specs embody:

• Pipetting quantity 1…1000 µl
• Viscosity vary 0.1…40mPas
• Pipette tip quantity 20, 300, 1000 µl
• 18 mm grid for microwell plates
• Communications Ethernet/Modbus, RS232, and will be operated manually through internet interface