LIFE SCIENCES Accelerating brain tumour research with the Integra portfolio Childhood brain tumours are rare but, despite all the progress made over recent years, they are often associated with poor prognoses and low survival rates. Researchers at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich are focused on the rapid translation of drugs for use in this field, and the integra family of products – including Voyager adjustable tip spacing pipettes, the Assist Plus pipetting robot, Evolve manual pipettes and Pipetboy acu 2 pipette controllers – have been a part of the lab since its inception. Dr Alexander Beck, the head of the laboratory, explained: “We assess drugs in terms of their efficacy on tumour cells, bloodbrain barrier penetration, toxicity and, on a deeper level, the tumour biology. The Assist Plus pipetting robot is without doubt the system that has had the most impact on our work; I don’t think there is anything else out there with the same capabilities, especially for its price point. We do a large amount of cell culture and have set up a workflow to test a lot of drugs weekly, which includes cell seeding, drug dilutions and drug treatments, and a viability assay. Throughput has increased from two plates a week manually to 20-30 plates a week, and we benefit from improved reproducibility as well as more time to perform other tasks, thanks to the instrument’s automation abilities. We are now optimising the use of a six channel Voyager with wide bore GripTips on the Assist Plus, to transfer
embryoid bodies from 96 to 24 well plates; automating this process could reduce the workflow from hours to just a matter of minutes. Our Integra portfolio is certainly helping us accelerate our research,” concluded Alexander.
LABOTEC (PTY) LTD
Visit the Integra Biosciences website to learn more. Bring this link up in your browser: https://bit.ly/2RkG3sq. Integra laboratory equipment is available from Labotec in South Africa.
JHB: (011) 315 5434 CPT: (021) 531 7660 DBN: (031) 566 4870 Fax: (011) 315 5882 sales@labotec.co.za www.labotec.co.za
Dr Alexander Beck of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Photo - Courtesy of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Olympus CM20 - remote cell culture monitoring Cultivating cell cultures can be a costly, complicated, and time-consuming process. Now, there’s a simpler way with the Olympus CM20 incubation monitoring system. The CM20 incubation monitoring system provides quantitative data remotely place the CM20 head and your cell cultures in the incubator, and the system will periodically scan it, count the number of cells, and determine confluency. The data can be wirelessly communicated from a computer workstation, so you can monitor your cultures’ progress without entering the clean room. Label-free cell monitoring With the CM20 monitoring system, there is no need to stain or peel the cultures to check their status. The system acquires data from label-free cells, reducing time, expense and the chance of harm to your cultures. Multipoint cell culture monitoring Growth rates can be altered by contamination, like mycoplasma. The CM20 system’s visual information and quantitative records enable you to identify these problems early in the culture process. The monitor scans multiple points or the entire surface in your culture vessel to track the health and confluency of your cell cultures. It is also possible to scan multiple wells in a microplate.
Leave your cell cultures in the incubator The monitor lets you track the health of cell cultures without removing them from the incubator, reducing the risk of contamination or damage from temperature changes and vibration. Its unique design enables you to fit up to four CM20 head units inside a standard incubator for greater efficiency. Reproducible cell observation data The monitor automatically records observation data that can be easily stored, re-used, and transferred to help reduce training time or ensure that different labs are using the same analysis parameters. Compare data across samples The system can monitor multiple wells, enabling you to compare quantitative data across samples. Culture status data can also be compared with past measurement data and shared with team members, facilitating control experiments and troubleshooting.
WIRSAM SCIENTIFIC Marketing Department Tel: (011) 482 1060 marketing@wirsam.com www.wirsam.com
Issue 4 | 2021 | Analytical Reporter
27
