Hamilton Company has introduced the Decapper - an automated instrument for the opening and closing of screw-capped tubes.
The programmable Decapper opens a row of 12 tubes simultaneously.
The instrument operates from outside to inside rows, eliminating the possibility of drip contamination that can occur with 96-tube decappers.
Built-in torque monitoring ensures a consistent seal and reports the exact location in the event a tube is not completely sealed.
After removal, the caps are placed on a separate, removable cap holder, which enables batch processing.
Applications for the Decapper include storage of biological materials such as DNA, cells, blood, tissue and plant materials as well as compound library storage in drug discovery research.
The Decapper can operate as a stand-alone system or be controlled by the Microlab Venus One software, for integration with Hamilton Robotics' automated pipetting workstations.
For added flexibility, the Decapper remains available for manual runs without removing it from the integrated workstation.
It is also an ideal accessory for the sample access manager platforms from Hamilton Storage Technologies, including the company's -20C and -80C storage systems.
The Decapper is compatible with tubes from Matrix, Micronic and Nunc.
