RTS Life Science has announced the availability of a poster highlighting how screening results can be improved by performing sample quality checks using the RTS tube auditor.
The RTS tube auditor is a high-speed, non-contact volume measurement and precipitate instrument for SBS format microtubes.
Significant time and effort is expended in screening sample libraries; however, no matter how advanced the screening system, the end results are only as good as the quality of the sample in the plate wells.
Survey data gathered by RTS suggests that as many as five per cent of plate wells may be empty, and three to five per cent may have samples at the wrong concentration.
Knowing the volume of sample in the source tube, and whether there is any precipitate, prior to plating, is key to avoiding screening empty wells, or samples at the wrong concentration.
RTS partnered with a pharmaceutical company to incorporate a vision system that routinely and accurately audits sample tubes to calculate volumes and identify any particulate matter.
This system has been in operation for more than 18 months and is helping to reduce the cost of poor quality screening.
The same vision technology has been employed in a rack-based instrument capable of auditing a rack of 96 tubes (without requiring de-capping) in less than two minutes, for both volume and precipitate.
This poster presents preliminary data and illustrates how the instrument may be used to improve the quality of screening output.
