INTEGRA’s VIAFLO 96 electronic multi-channel pipetting system is helping biotechnology company HCS Pharma to improve the reproducibility of high content screening using its patented BIOMIMESYS 3D cell culture technology.
Elodie Vandenhaute, Study Director at HCS Pharma, explained: "96-well cell culture plates are not easy to handle, even with multi-channel pipettes. The VIAFLO 96 is really user-friendly, and allows us to, for example, seed cells, dispense reagents or perform media exchanges in every well simultaneously.
This is both extremely convenient – saving the operator a lot of time – and helps to improve the reproducibility of results by allowing more precise manipulation of cultures. This is particularly important during media exchange, as you need to avoid disturbing the gel. With the VIAFLO 96, you can do this very easily and consistently, without the risk of accidents, making our experiments more reproducible.
"The system is very compact, which means that it easily fits under our existing laminar flow hood. This is a real advantage, as the cell cultures remain within a sterile environment for manipulation, which is very important for cell seeding and changing media. It saves space and is cost-effective compared to a fully automated liquid handling robot – it's a great intermediate between a handheld pipette and a robot."
