Hamilton has previewed the Biolevitator benchtop 3D cell culture system at the 2009 Labautomation meeting in Palm Springs, California.
Developed in collaboration with Global Cell Solutions, the Biolevitator delivers significant productivity gains to researchers in drug discovery and development, therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
It is a scalable and automated system that reduces costs while improving the consistency and relevance of cultured cells.
It eliminates traditional peripheral cell culture instruments, such as incubators and centrifuges, and minimises manual handling.
Each of the Biolevitator's four hydrophobic, PTFE-filtered 50ml cell culture tubes can produce cell growth equivalent to up to ten T75 flasks, depending on the cell line.
The system features a user-friendly touch-screen interface with real-time monitoring and control of environmental temperature and CO2 levels.
The Biolevitator uses global eukaryotic microcarrier (GEM) technology from Global Cell Solutions.
The GEM provides an optically clear and non-autofluorescent pipettable substrate for adherent cell lines.
It contains silica-coated iron particles that facilitate suspension of the cells without impellers.
The particles' magnetic properties also enable the pelleting of cells for media changes.
Custom protein coatings, including basement membrane, are available to facilitate growth of difficult cell lines and the GEM's alginate core inhibits ice crystals during cryopreservation, ensuring high survivability and cell function.
