Investment in an Assay Platform from RTS Thurnall and Activity Base software from IDBS should result in ultra-high throughput screening (UHTS), claims AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca R&D Charnwood specialises in drug discovery for respiratory and inflammatory diseases.
The Assay Platform was designed by RTS Thurnall and aims to bring industrial standard roboustics into a laboratory environment.
Andrew Ormrod, RTS Thurnall's product manager, explained: "With assay biology instrumentation like a Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR) costing £350,000, it is essential that nothing is left standing idle.
Therefore, we have designed our Assay Platform in such a way that any of its instruments can be easily removed and quickly configured and replaced.
This approach also means that our clients aren't tied to any one instrument vendor." An AstraZeneca spokesperson from HTS said: "Currently, we operate our assays in batches, but we will be more efficient and the quality of our data will improve if we move, as we plan to do, from batch mode to continuous operation.
We are changing our philosophy of working and, in so doing, expect to carry out the primary screen and the retest virtually back to back.
Within minutes of data being generated, Activity Base software will identify a positive result from within predefined parameters, and the Tecan Genesis will instantly re-pick the identified well for retest screening.
Other companies have tried to align the primary and retest screening by linking HTS and Compound Control robotics together, but this is a much simpler approach and will deliver automated UHTS." The FLIPR, which uses a laser and optical equipment capable of detecting changes in fluorescence to create 'snapshots' of biological responses as they occur, dominates the system, taking up a third of the platform's space.
The industrial Stäubli robot, which sits in the centre of the platform, has a 985mm working envelope and features a specially designed plate handling gripper.
Although the system is envisaged to handle 384 well plates, at least initially, it has been designed to cope with 1536 well plates.
Compound plates and cell plates are held in a Heraeus Carousel and Cytomat 6000 incubator respectively.
The scheduling software ensures that plates are transferred between instruments in the correct sequence.
Typically, sequences would include Embla washers, Multidrops for dispensing reagents and the Cytomat 4000 incubator.
A Platemate-Plus, also contained within the Assay Platform, carries out plate-to-plate transfers, prior to the compound plates returning to the compound hotel and the Tecan Genesis for cherry picking.
The Assay Platform is controlled by RTS Thurnall's Sprint dynamic scheduler.
Sprint communicates to each device via an ActiveX server that allows devices to be easily changed or upgraded.
Although the system has been designed to process over 200 plates a day, its inherent modularity means that it could easily be extended.
In the future, further FLIPR's could also be incorporated.
An HTS AstraZeneca spokesperson commented: "Being able to replace equipment within the cell in minutes is a great advantage, as at any given time, breakdowns can cause the loss of between seven and ten plates that are being processed.
RTS Thurnall has offered us lots of support and the company's engineering expertise tells in a myriad of small ways, such as putting our FLIPR on wheels. Their extra innovations don't just make things fit, but make them work well."
