AstraZeneca will soon take delivery of a custom designed assay platform which automates sub cellular analysis system to evaluate the effect on cellular processes by drug compounds
mAstraZeneca will soon take delivery of a custom designed assay platform from RTS Life Science International which automates the In Cell Analyser 3000 sub cellular analysis system from Amersham Biosciences.
RTS has integrated its advanced scheduling system into the imaging tool to enable AstraZeneca to evaluate the effect on cellular processes by drug compounds.
Much anticipated over the last couple of years, the concept of HCS, with its ability to use fluorescent probes capable of enabling the parallel labelling and analysis of multiple parameters, has become the next leap forward in the sphere of cell-based assays for drug discovery.
The theory was that by drawing on expertise in the fields of fluorescent microscopy and cell biology, a new set of screening tools could be developed.
These are capable of converting multiple fluorescent signals from raw image data into kinetic analysis of multiple cellular activities within individual cells.
The In Cell Analyser 3000, the advanced high content screening (HCS) instrument from Amersham Biosciences, has been undergoing beta testing at AstraZeneca over the summer and the company has now placed an order for two systems.
Elaine Sullivan, director of The Advanced Science and Technology Laboratory at AstraZeneca, commented, "The system is allowing our scientists to probe deep inside a living cell and evaluate directly the effects of a drug compound on cellular processes in real time".
The system's innovative detection technology permits sub-cellular imaging and the analysis of nearly 400 assays in as little as 15 minutes and of over 10,000 cellular images in eight hours.
At the heart of the In Cell Analyser 3000 is a proprietary, laser-based, confocal imaging system that includes three high-speed cameras.
These view red, blue, and green emissions simultaneously, negating the need for consecutive reads.
Sophisticated optics and software are then used to analyse these images in real time, allowing biologists to observe reactions at a sub-cellular level.
Gary Allenby, who is a senior scientist within high throughput screening (HTS) at AstraZeneca, Charnwood, explained, "The In Cell Analyser 3000 provides us with much better quality data and saves on both time and reagent cost because there is no need for a secondary screen.
With traditional HTS, one can see the summation of 100 cells, many of which might be acting in a different way, but with HCS, one is looking at individual cells.
However, the complexity of the biology is such that the processing could take longer than a working day, making automation essential if bottlenecks are to be avoided." "As users of RTS's Assay Platform for HTS", he continued, "we approached RTS to integrate the In Cell Analyser 3000 with the other instruments needed to provide a fully automated HCS system.
With the timings when the compounds should be added and even the dispensing speed being crucial, if a good read is to be attained, we knew that a scheduler like Sprint was important too.
If something goes wrong, then the In Cell Analyser 3000 communicates this to Sprint, which adjusts everything, so that it is possible to delete just that sample and complete the assay." RTS expects to deliver the complete automated system to AstraZeneca in the New Year.
To maximise the utilization of Amersham Biosciences' In Cell Analyser 3000, the system has been designed for both operator and robotic access, each from a different side.
A Staubli robot sits at the centre of the system and the RTS gripper has been further refined for improved performance.
All the instruments: the Biomek FX which aliquots and dispenses, the Cytomat II incubator, the Cytomat 6001 incubator, the two Multidrop dispensers, the Hereaus which enables compound plate entry, and the Kendro carousel are mounted on slide tables with drag links and cable management systems, so that during maintenance, each instrument is easy to pull out and then slide back in.
Working on similar principles, the cabinet which encases the entire system except the computer, protecting both its operators and the cells involved in the assay, is formed of ten separate sections, so that different instruments can be added and maintenance can take place in a phased manner.
The entire enclosure can be accessed easily from inside, again facilitating easy maintenance, but also making robot teaching more straightforward.
Walk in access also allows the individual instruments to be used in bench top mode when the whole system is not in use.
The In Cell Analyser 3000 results are easily read once complete because Sprint produces a file similar to an Excel spreadsheet, giving a complete record of which cells are in the carousel.
The carousel is fitted with barcode readers and these codes are then imported into the In Cell Analyser 3000 via Sprint, making even single reads and part plate reads possible.
