QPix 460 – Microbial Colony Pickers

Antibiotic Zone of Inhibition

Biofuels

One of the most prominent alternative energy resources is biodiesel, an energy-rich portable fuel mainly composed of triacylglycerols. Biodiesel production from lipid producing microbial systems involves screening thousands of clones through a multitude of tests such as bicinchoninic acid (BCA) assays, optical density measurements, and gas chromatography assays. QPix colony pickers automate the task of colony picking, a laborious and error-prone process, effectively shortening timelines to find suitable candidates.

Blue-White Screening

Screening of bacterial transformants that contain recombinant plasmids with cloned gene inserts is an essential step in molecular cloning. A colorimetric reporter method called “blue-white screening” allows convenient identification of recombinant and non-recombinant colonies based on color. QPix colony pickers offer an automated solution especially designed for accurate blue-white colorimetric screening using white light imaging for effective monitoring of transformation efficiency. Other colorimetric approaches such as “red-white screening” can also be implemented on the systems.

DNA Sequencing

Sequencing is the reading of the precise order of adenine (A) guanine (G) cytosine (C) and thymine (T) nucleotides within a molecule of DNA. Shotgun sequencing is a method whereby DNA is fragmented into one kilobase pieces, are then sub-cloned into circular plasmids, and transformed into bacteria. Automated colony picking is essential for increased throughput and plasmid isolation for sequencing. QPix colony pickers are renown for reliability and accuracy, and were used by many sequencing centers during the Human Genome Project. Many areas of research, such as vaccine development, continue to utilize traditional sequencing techniques.

Drug Discovery & Development

For every drug that makes it to the finish line, another nine don’t succeed. This alarming failure rate can be traced to reliance on 2D cell cultures that don’t closely mimic complex human biology, often leading to inaccurate predictions of a drug’s potential and extended drug development timelines.

Monoclonal Antibodies (mAbs)

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) originate from one unique parent cell, thus binding only to a single epitope. Monoclonal antibody discovery typically refers to the screening and identification of specific antibodies that target a specific epitope for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, like the coronavirus for COVID-19.

Phage display

Phage display is a technique used to study the interaction of proteins displayed on the surface of a bacteriophage with other molecules such as peptides, DNA, and other proteins. Phage display is commonly used to find high-affinity interactions between antibodies and antigens, which play a critical role in viral pathogenesis, vaccines, and other treatments.

Plasmid engineering in synthetic biology

Plasmids are small, circular DNA molecules that operate independently from chromosomal DNA. Central to molecular biology, they enable the study, manipulation, and production of genes, playing a vital role in cloning, gene therapies, and vaccine development.

Protein Evolution

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is a broad term that refers to the manipulation of genetic pathways to harness the power of existing biological systems in novel ways (often to manufacture molecules or proteins). Synthetic biology applies principles that are derived from engineering, specifically design-build-test-learn cycles, to biological systems. By leveraging high-throughput workflows, synthetic biologists can accelerate this process.