AceMBL, a fully automated pipeline for the production of multi-protein complexes, has been developed by researchers at the EMBL on the Freedom Evo platform from Tecan.
The system makes it possible to perform experiments that were previously impossible using manual methods.
It is said to have potential for revealing currently unknown molecular mechanisms of health and disease that could prove vital in drug discovery.
Dr Imre Berger, group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), said: 'Automation is the essential solution for protein complex expression and production, when many-fold variation in the individual proteins is required for experimental success.
'With a robot, many experiments can be performed simultaneously and in parallel, with a precision that is unattainable manually.
'We use a Freedom Evo 200 platform with three identical liquid-handling modules and, additionally, a sterile, covered compartment for growing cell cultures.
'The two main advantages of automation are diversification and throughput.
'Research and optimisation of the procedures are ongoing; we aim to produce a routine and robust high-throughput application with several automated platforms running in parallel, repeating the AceMBL procedure many thousands of times with up to 95 per cent efficiency.'
