Situation

Company A, a major pharmaceutical company, faced a significant bottleneck in their high throughput protein expression and purification efforts. It was decided that a considerable impact on the process could be made by automating lysis of cells under non-denaturing conditions. Company A needed to determine how this should be done, and find a service provider who could competently complete such a complex project.

Solution

Company A asked Scinomix to help them solve the lysis bottleneck problem due to Scinomix's extensive knowledge of laboratory automation and processes. Scinomix became an integral part of Company A's R&D team. After evaluating several technologies, it was decided that ultrasonic processors would have the greatest chance for success.

Scinomix collaborated with an ultrasonic probe manufacturer to design a 24 multi-element probe unit to meet Company A's specifications because at the time, only one and four probe processors existed on the market.

Automating the new probe brought design challenges including overcoming considerable heat generated during processing, integration with liquid handling equipment, and footprint restrictions. Scinomix was able to develop a cooling device to keep the samples cool during processing in a 24 well SBS plate, write a driver for the liquid handler, design the system so that the liquid handler robot arm could access the 24 well plate, and incorporate other stations such as a probe washer. They put their expertise to work when programming the X and Z motion of the probe unit and Y motion required on the 24 well plate cooling device.

Results and Benefits

Company A now experiences fewer bottlenecks and greater efficiency as a direct result of the new Scinomix system. By the end of the project the combined Company A/Scinomix team reached every set goal, including completing the project within budget parameters. Scinomix now offers this system as part of its product line due to its exceptional success.