Using a Mediajet Vario adapted for 35mm petri dishes, the FMI Institute for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland automated production of agar plates on which to cultivate the nematode C elegans
The nematode C elegans has long been a popular geneticist's tool.
The simplicity, transparency and speed of its biological functions have made C elegans an ideal model organism for studying genes and their function.
The FMI is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence in biomedical research with a strong record of innovation in the molecular biology of disease.
Supported by the Novartis Research Foundation the goal of the FMI is to exploit new technologies to further its understanding of the basic molecular mechanisms of cells and organisms in the fields of epigenetics, growth control and neurobiology.
Mathias Muller, head of the media preparation laboratory at the FMI, commented: "at FMI our diverse research requires different types of agar plate media preparation ranging from growing bacteria to the cultivation of the model organism C elegans.
"We perform large numbers of screenings with C elegans worms and therefore our scientists can require thousands of 35mm agar dishes, as these dishes are very convenient to work with under a microscope.
"However manually preparing these agar dishes has been more than cumbersome and very time consuming".
To address these challenges, Integra Biosciences in collaboration with FMI, adapted a Mediajet vario to provide users with the versatility to fill 35, 55/60 and 90/100mm Petri dishes on the same system.
With a compact footprint of only 70x70cm the adapted Mediajet vario fits conveniently onto a laboratory bench and is capable of automatically producing 900 filled petri dishes per hour.
Converting the system between two different plate types takes only minutes.
Reflecting on the new system, Mathias Muller further commented: "Integra Biosciences was the only company able to adapt their petri dish filler according to our needs.
"The Mediajet vario system uniquely provides us with the versatility we sought as well as saving us time through automating the production of 35mm agar plates for cultivation of C elegans worms".
