Tecan Journal Edition 03/2010

Tecan Journal Life Sciences ❙ Clinical Diagnostics ❙ Forensics ❙ OEM ❙ Business and Technical News

Edition 3/2010

An island of tranquility at Expo Shanghai 2010 page 25

Strengthened Tecan services in Europe and Te-Care Service Contracts TM

pages 4-5

Automation increases neonatal screening throughput pages 10-11

Walkaway automation for infectious disease testing pages 26-27

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CEO WELCOME TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Welcome

A move that benefits our customers I would personally like to inform you that the Tecan Group has signed an agreement to sell its sample management subsidiary REMP AG, as well as other related assets, to the US company NEXUS Biosystems. This move will provide REMP AG with an optimal environment for the future development of its business. Its customers will benefit from the strong global market and service presence, and the unparalleled strength in innovation that this newly formed NEXUS-REMP entity will bring to the sample management system users.

At the same time, Tecan is creating an even more customer focused organization with a commitment to best drive innovative projects forward within our core markets. Effective from January 2011, our organizational and management structure will be realigned into two new business segments, the Life Sciences Business (endcustomer business) and Partnering Business (OEM business). Innovation will continue to

be our driving force and we strongly believe that the new organization will speed up innovation by making better use of the synergies in research, development, supply chain management and production across various Tecan locations.

This edition of the Tecan Journal sees many more examples of our customer focus, with news of how our expertise has contributed to a fascinating study covering three generations of the north Netherlands population. A story from the US takes a closer look at microfluidic technology and shows how Tecan provided the technology one customer needed to transform automation from a macro to a micro scale. And recent changes to our European first line service also show how we are continually adapting our processes to suit our customers’ changing requirements.

We hope you enjoy the issue, Thomas Bachmann, CEO

CONTENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

page 4

Te-Care™ Service Contracts – greater flexibility, greater choice

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page 10-11

CEO welcome

4 Te-Care™ Service Contracts – greater flexibility, greater choice 5

Strengthened first level Te-Care™ Service in Europe

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We appreciate our customers’ feedback

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Tecan Group achieves ISO accreditation

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AACC Clinical Lab Expo 2010

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Tecan presents new Infinite® 200 PRO at Forum LABO & BIOTECH 2010

10-11 Automation increases neonatal screening throughput 12-13 A lifeline for sample processing 14-15 Automated microfluidic technology – from macro to micro

page 25

A perfect combination of art and technology – an island of tranquility at Expo Shanghai 2010

Contents

page 8

16-17 Faster Pharma 18-19 First choice for quality and reliability 20-21 ARUP Institute develops novel 104-well microplate 22-23 30 years of Tecan 24

Blood bank delegation from China

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An island of tranquility at Expo Shanghai 2010

26-27 Walkaway automation for infectious disease testing 27

Leading the debate

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Events

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SERVICES TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Te-Care™ Service Contracts – greater flexibility, greater choice

Tecan engineer Dieter Klement fixing a HydroFlex™ instrument in the Tecan Service center in Grödig, Austria

With 30 years of experience in service support, we know that the same solution is not right for everyone. To better meet our customers’ needs, the current range of service contracts – Te-Care™ Complete, Te-Care™ Maintenance and Te-Care™ Repair – has been extended to include two new options – Te-Care™ Check and Te-Care™ Depot Repair – designed specifically for users of Tecan detection instruments.

Te-Care™ Check offers on-site operational qualification (OQ) of instrument performance, reducing downtime by ensuring consistent performance and instrument reliability through regular maintenance and function checks, and is particularly suited to customers without a dedicated quality control (QC) tool.

Te-Care™ Depot Repair provides a cost efficient repair service at a Tecan technical center,

which includes parts and labor, eliminating unbudgeted service expenses. Shipping arrangements are straightforward and the customer has the option of a loaner instrument.

As reliable operation of laboratory equipment is vital to the efficiency and smooth running of any laboratory, our flexible range of Te-Care Service Contracts provides peace of mind by helping to reduce instrument downtime and to ensure reliability of results. All services are provided by our broad network of experienced and certified field service specialists, guaranteeing the high level of service Tecan customers have come to expect.

To find out more on Tecan’s Te-Care Service Contracts, visit www.tecan.com/service_contracts

SERVICES TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Strengthened first level Te-Care™ Service in Europe The Tecan name is synonymous with quality and innovation, and we continuously strive to adapt and improve our Te-Care service offerings and processes to meet our customer’s diverse requirements. As part of these efforts, we have recently made several changes to our service organization, particularly in Europe, to improve the accessibility of our helpdesk, to increase our speed in resolving issues and to ensure better communication with our customers.

Based on a proven and successful concept established in the US, we have centralized our European helpdesk which forms the core of all Tecan’s European service activities, providing a single point of contact for all service-related issues. This development will bring better accessibility, as well as offering customers faster access to the relevant technical expertise. Based in Grödig, Austria, our helpdesk staff can speak all major European languages and have the relevant technical expertise to deal with many customer requests over the phone, without the need for an on-site visit. This frees up resources in the field, improving response times and allowing engineers to be more flexible to customer needs.

Customers

Local field service

Central Helpdesk

After only a few months into this new European helpdesk, Manager Ute Judisch said: “Shortly after the launch phase of our new centralized helpdesk, our customers were already responding positively about the improved accessibility. From our point of view, we are getting a better overview of everything going on in the field across Europe and can initiate measures accordingly.”

If an appropriate solution cannot be found over the phone, the helpdesk team is able to initiate and co-ordinate all Tecan support activities, liaising directly with field personnel, application specialists, repair center staff and product experts, to ensure a fast and efficient service for the customer. To support this process, and to ensure smooth integration of all service activities, Tecan has recently

Central Depot Repair Centre

launched a global, state-of-the-art Mobile Service Tool. This online solution integrates all aspects of our service, from administration and scheduling of visits, to parts ordering and customer information, as well as acting as a knowledge base for applications specialists and engineers in the field. This paperless system has already been shown to improve the information for field service engineers to provide effective on-site services, leading to increased first time repair rates and improved customer satisfaction.

A new repair center for our range of detection instruments has also been established in Grödig, Austria, offering specialist support and maintenance for Tecan readers, plate washers and microarray products. A dedicated team of experienced engineers provides a fast and reliable service, streamlining the process and ensuring high quality, cost effective repairs.

To find out more on Tecan’s Te-Care services, visit www.tecan.com/support

Front row left to right: Maria-Yarmec Echeverria, Rita Sembenini; back row left to right: Ute Judisch (European Helpdesk Manager), Uwe Westphal, Piedad Bauer, Guy Mavar; missing on the picture: Ferdinand Weberberger, Erica Danzl Robles and Monika Jerey

Front: Walter Magerl (Head of European Service Center); back row left to right: Michael Kummerer, Rainer Schmerl, Dieter Klement; missing from the picture is Alexander Mirocha

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SERVICES TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

We appreciate our We are asking all Te-Care™ service customers to give us their feedback on how we performed.

Your response will help us to continuously learn about your specific needs, monitor our performance and define ways in which we can improve our services to you.

customers’ feedback

Every six months, to thank you for your participation in the survey, we will award great prizes to three lucky winners.

• 1st prize: Sony e-book reader • 2nd prize: Apple iPod® • 3rd prize: USB stick Please complete our customer service survey – now online for your convenience – when you receive the request to participate.

To find out more on Tecan’s Te-Care services, visit www.tecan.com/support iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries.

1st prize winner – Carmen Navarro Garcia, Hospital Clinic Barcelona, Spain

2nd prize winner – Florence Hilaire, Merial, France

Quality TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Tecan Group achieves ISO accreditation In recent years, Tecan has successfully embarked on a program to achieve ISO certification for all its global manufacturing and sales organizations, and now the Tecan Group parent company has been certified to ISO 13485 standard for its web-based management system.

G端nter Weisshaar, Senior Vice President, Head of Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs

Tecan locations

Tecan sales office R&D and manufacturing site

The new, simpler and more efficient system ensures that Tecan employees have the time to concentrate their efforts on customer requirements and product developments. Acting at a global level, it provides a wealth of corporate information, document templates, SOPs and directives to all employees worldwide. The system is based around a comprehensive information repository that maintains and archives all documents, so that employees can be sure they have access to current and valid texts. The whole process is now paperless, completely automated and controlled with electronic signatures, from a request to change a management document to its release and upload onto the system. And, at every stage, the system saves time by notifying each employee of pending tasks.

The system also features a regularly updated organizational matrix chart of all Tecan employees and their roles, so that it is immediately clear who in the Company is best served to help in any situation, especially important in such a large multinational company. In addition, a series of iDashboards can be set up to monitor data, key performance indicators and analysis (PIAs), quality data, etc., and automatically upload the data in a standardized reporting format.

As a whole, the system has been a huge success and customers are undoubtedly benefiting from the increased efficiency and up-to-date information they now receive.

It is a dynamic system with even more potential, and we at Tecan will constantly look for ways to improve.

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EVENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

AACC Clinical Lab Expo 2010 The 2010 American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Clinical Lab Expo, held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA, from July 27th-29th, continues to be the world’s largest show dedicated to clinical laboratory sciences. More than 21,000 people attended this year’s premiere event, with an all-time record of 1,996 booths and more than 650 exhibitors.

As a leading global provider of laboratory instruments for clinical diagnostics, Tecan showcased its diversity and flexibility as your partner of choice for world class OEM and end-user solutions for laboratory automation. Highlighting this flexibility was the generic turnkey ELISA system, the Freedom EVOlyzer®, available off-the-shelf with the Tecan logo or customized with your company colors and insignia.

The Freedom EVO® liquid handling platform, combined with Luminex® Corporation’s Luminex 200™ and FlexMAP 3D™ readers, provides the next dimension in multiplexing, automating xMAP® bead-based assays.

Multiplex your throughput with the Freedom EVO for maximum efficiency, and automate the entire assay workflow including sample distribution, bead addition, mixing, incubation, bead washing and analysis.

Tecan Freedom EVOlyzer

Tecan exhibition at AACC 2010

New horizons in microplate detection and separation were demonstrated by the Infinite® F50 absorbance reader, a new state-of-the-art ELISA microplate reader with the latest LED technology. Also on display was the Infinite 200 PRO multimode reader, available with Tecan’s NanoQuant Plate™, for absorbance applications with low sample volumes, and the HydroFlex™ 3-in-1 microplate washer, for ELISA assays, magnetic beads and cells.

Tecan’s front-end automation solutions were represented by the FE500pro™. With its small footprint, the FE500pro is an effective pre-analytical automation solution which offers functions such as pre-sorting, centrifugation, volume check, clot detection, decapping, secondary tube labeling, aliquoting and destination sorting into analyzer racks, all in one system.

With Tecan OEM components, innovation was seen everywhere at the 2010 Clinical Lab Expo. A lucky attendee from Kollman Inc. correctly spotted the number of exhibitors offering products that contained Tecan components, and won an iPod®. As global leaders in pump and robotic innovation for many decades, our cutting-edge designs and

product reliability are just two reasons why brands such as LipoScience (Vantera™) and Luminex (MAGPIX®), both present at AACC 2010, trust Tecan.

Whether you’re a professional in need of laboratory automation, or a partner looking for OEM solutions, Tecan provides high quality, reliable world-class solutions. We hope you’ll join us and be a part of the 2011 AACC Clinical Lab Expo in Atlanta!

Luminex, xMAP and MAGPIX are registered trademarks, and Luminex 200 and FlexMAP 3D are trademarks, of Luminex Corporation.

Vantera is a trademark of LipoScience. iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries.

EVENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Tecan presents new Infinite® 200 PRO at Forum LABO & BIOTECH 2010 Tecan chose the 9th biennial Forum LABO & BIOTECH, held at the Paris Expo Exhibition Center in Porte de Versailles, for the presentation of the new Infinite 200 PRO. The highly successful exhibition for analysis, control, research and analytical process professionals took place over four days from 1st – 4th June, and was attended by 8,564 visitors, many of them international.

Tecan was one of 297 exhibitors taking the opportunity to showcase new and existing products to visitors, ranging from scientists responsible for initiating projects who were seeking information, to those who simply had a keen interest in technology.

Visitors to the Tecan stand were able to see the new Infinite 200 PRO, a system compatible with the patent-pending NanoQuant Plate for nucleic acid and protein applications. Its enhanced fluorescence bottom reading with Optimal Read (OR) function increases sensitivity for inhomogeneous adherent cells and the automated z-focus offers the highest sensitivity, even with auto-fluorescence media. Also on display was the Infinite M1000, offering flexible wavelength selection and a wide range of adjustable bandwidth

settings, high sensitivity premium Quad4 Monochromators™ technology and 3D scanning.

Liquid handling was represented by the Freedom EVO 200, with its capacity to integrate other devices on, around and even underneath the worktable. Its MultiChannel Arm™ 384 enables on-the-fly exchange between different pipetting formats for greater flexibility, and up to three arms can work independently to generate faster assay results through the ultimate parallel processing. Fast and flexible pipetting, combining eight tip pipetting across a microplate and access to individual samples with a single versatile tip was demonstrated by a Freedom EVO 75 with an 8 Plus 1 Access™ arm.

Delegates were extremely complementary about the quality of the show, the range of products represented and the contacts made there, while exhibitors appreciate the quality of visitors to this event.

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CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Automation increases neonatal screening throughput Astoria-Pacific International has chosen the Freedom EVO® liquid handling platform to automate its SPOTCHECK® Neonatal Screening assays for biotinidase and GALT (galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase).

The Astoria-Pacific team

Alana Lerch with the Freedom EVO-based SPOTCHECK Pro workstation

Astoria-Pacific International, based in Oregon, USA, has a strong customer base in the United States, where every state has a centralized laboratory for neonatal screening for treatable diseases. The Company’s SPOTCHECK Continuous Flow Analyzer is currently used to test around 36% of all babies born in the US for at least one disorder. Laboratories using the SPOTCHECK system can offer same day turnaround of patient results, allowing physicians to respond more effectively to potentially critical conditions. The current product portfolio, until now based entirely on continuous flow methodology and marketed as SPOTCHECK Flow, has been in use globally since 1994 and offers six different screening assays; phenylalanine, total galactose, tyrosine, G6PD, biotinidase and uridyltransferase (GALT).

With laboratories turning increasingly to automation, Astoria-Pacific’s new SPOTCHECK Pro system uses the Freedom EVO liquid handling platform to automate biotinidase and GALT assays. Alana Lerch, Newborn Screening Product Manager at Astoria-Pacific International, explained: “Continuous flow can sometimes be perceived as outdated technology, as it is unable to run unattended overnight and has time consuming maintenance requirements. We therefore wanted to move to an automated microplate format that offered end-to-end automation, could run overnight and at weekends, and had minimal maintenance requirements.

When we researched different robotic platforms, we found that many of them could not perform the entire process. One of our assays requires filtering, so automated filtration was a specific feature that we

CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

needed. The Freedom EVO is able to fully integrate all the modules necessary for complete automation of our assays.”

Alana continued: “SPOTCHECK Pro is a fully automated system, controlled by Tecan’s Freedom EVOware® Plus software, which uses standard microplates, barcoded to ensure correct sample identification.

The system includes a Te-VacS™ vacuum separation module, liquid handling (LiHa) and robotic manipulator (RoMa) arms, two shaker/incubators, hotels and a Sunrise™ microplate absorbance reader, offering complete walkaway automation. We have already obtained FDA approval in the US for the SPOTCHECK Biotinidase kit, and we are currently seeking 510(K) approval for the GALT kit. We also plan to add further SPOTCHECK tests in the future.”

“Automation significantly improves throughput from five to eighteen assayed plates in one day. As biotinidase has a four hour incubation period and GALT only two, mixed batches of nine biotinidase plates and nine GALT plates offer even greater efficiency, allowing biotinidase plates to be incubated

while GALT plates are being processed, and all eighteen plates can be processed in just ten and a half hours. Automation also eliminates the potential for errors that can occur during manual operation, reducing the need for repeat testing, and maintenance time is drastically reduced.

With SPOTCHECK Flow, maintenance needs to be performed every other week and takes a couple of hours. Although SPOTCHECK Pro requires weekly maintenance, this is a fully automated process and takes just 20 minutes.”

Alana concluded: “The support team at Tecan has been wonderful throughout the development process of this new system.

We have had access to demonstration instruments, and Tecan experts have helped with software updates and incorporating new features to accommodate us. Everybody has always gone that extra mile to make sure we get what we need. The fully automated assay is currently undergoing clinical evaluation in two customers’ laboratories, and we have other evaluations scheduled in 2011.”

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVO, visit www.tecan.com/freedomevo To find out more on Tecan’s clinical diagnostics solutions, visit www.tecan.com/clinicaldiagnostics To find out more on Astoria-Pacific International’s SPOTCHECK, visit www.astoria­pacific.com/spotcheck/ SPOTCHECK is a registered trademark of Astoria-Pacific International.

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DRUG DISCOVERY TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

A lifeline for sample processing The University Medical Center Groningen is using customized biobanking solutions from the Tecan Integration Group to perform front-end sample management and aliquoting for its LifeLines population study.

LifeLines is a three generation population study and biobanking initiative by the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. This long term study is designed to investigate the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the development of multifactorial diseases, and will follow over 165,000 volunteers from the three northern provinces of the Netherlands – Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe – for 30 years.

Each volunteer for the study completes a detailed questionnaire on their individual and familial medical and socioeconomic histories, as well as providing blood and urine samples for the biobank every five years. Jacko Duker, Biomaterials and Cryofacility Manager for the LifeLines project, explained: “The northern provinces of the Netherlands have low migration

rates, offering the opportunity to perform a true multigenerational study. The LifeLines initiative began in 2007 with a small pilot-scale study during which we asked each volunteer to provide blood and urine samples for analysis and inclusion in our biobank. A variety of biochemical and genetic tests were performed on each sample, looking at factors such as kidney, liver and lung function, as well as screening for numerous genetic markers.”

“Following the success of this small-scale study, we have significantly extended the scope of the project, and now aim to include biological material and data from over 165,000 volunteers in the biobank, encompassing three generations of the region’s population. We will be following a wide range of environmental and disease markers over the course of the study, and currently have a panel of over 40 clinical chemistry assays which are performed on each sample. We do most of the testing in house, to ensure we retain control of the

quality and reliability of the data, but some work is done by other groups investigating particular subjects related to our central theme of aging and multifactorial disease.

This broad spectrum of tests requires multiple sample types, and so for each volunteer we generate 48 different aliquots of material. Although, for the pilot study, this aliquoting was performed entirely manually, the scale of the LifeLines initiative requires an automated system to handle sample management and aliquoting. This was put out to tender in 2008, and Tecan was able to provide the most comprehensive solution for our needs, offering high throughput and reliable, error-free processing for serum and plasma aliquoting.”

To meet the highly specific requirements of the LifeLines project, the Tecan Integration Group (TIG) developed three customized platforms to generate the high number of secondary tubes required. Combining the modules of an FE500pro™ front-end sample management system with a Freedom EVO® liquid handling workstation, these integrated platforms offer complete automation of the sample preparation workflow, from tube identification and

DRuG TALK DISCOVERy TO TECAN TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010 The LifeLines team at Groningen: front ( left to right) Dieuwke Huizingh, Margje Kleinhuis, Dirk Barkhof; back (left to right) Evelien Werners, Jacko Duker, Marcel Bruinenberg, Annemieke Boesjes

decapping through to sample sorting for archiving and analysis. Jacko continued: “Tubes are immediately centrifuged on arrival, then loaded onto the platform.

The tube inspection unit identifies the separation layer within the primary tube and calculates the total sample volume available for aliquoting. The tube cap is then removed, and the individual layers are distributed into various types of storage and archiving tubes by the eight-channel liquid handling (LiHa) arm of the Freedom EVO. This entire process must be performed very quickly to ensure that sample integrity is maintained.”

“Samples are taken from fasting volunteers before 9:30 in the morning, then shipped via courier from around the region to our central laboratory facility, arriving between 11:30 and 12:30. We receive samples from almost 150 individuals each day, all of which must be processed the same day, meaning that we generate up to 7,000 aliquots for archiving in just five hours. All three platforms are identical, offering sufficient capacity to allow each instrument to be taken offline for routine maintenance without impacting on the laboratory’s workflow. This is very important, because we need to ensure

samples are aliquoted and placed into storage at -80 °C on the same day they are taken, to avoid any degradation or loss of material. Automation is also very important for sample tracking, avoiding the inevitable loss or mislabeling of samples that would arise during manual processing on this scale, and allowing any erroneous results to be traced back through the entire workflow.”

“We originally chose to work with Tecan due to a combination of competitive pricing and application flexibility, and have been very happy with our decision,” Jacko concluded.

“The service and support we receive has been good, and the Tecan name is a good assurance of quality.”

To learn more about LifeLines, go to www.lifelines.net To find out more about Tecan’s custom automation solutions, visit www.tecan.com/tig

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COMPONENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Automated microfluidic technology – from macro to micro

IntegenX designs, manufactures and markets automated systems for reliable microsample preparation and analysis, and has chosen the Tecan Cavro® Mini Sample Processor (MSP) to automate its microfluidic technology.

IntegenX, Inc., based in California, USA, was historically primarily involved in contract research projects using microfluidic technology and, over the last five years, has developed a very good understanding of the marketplace. With the direction the sequencing market was taking, the Company decided to develop an instrument that would allow them to commercialize both their technology and an automated product.

James Nelson, Marketing Director at IntegenX, explained: “With Sanger sequencing, the major ‘pain point’ is the expense of the Big Dye®, XTerminator® and magnetic bead reagents for clean-up.

Although ethanol clean-up is much cheaper, this technique is both tedious and time consuming. In comparison, automation drastically reduces the reagent volumes required for efficient clean-up, meaning that the initial outlay for an automation product is more than offset by the substantial reagent cost savings generated.”

“Typically sample volumes are in millilitres – the ‘macro world’ – and must be interfaced to a microfluidic system that handles microlitres, which is where our expertise lies. We needed to transfer samples from macro to micro, and for that we required a robotic system that was highly reliable and robust, with a great reputation. Tecan was a name our customers knew and trusted, and they had a product that matched our needs really well. The Cavro MSP 9250, equipped with an eight-channel probe assembly and stainless steel tips, was very straightforward to integrate into our system, Apollo 100. Tecan provided all the technical support we needed and the documentation

provided with the liquid handler was more than adequate to enable us to take control of the platform through our Apollo Control Software.”

James continued: “When we receive each Cavro MSP 9250, we build onto its work deck, adding a section to accommodate samples – which arrive in microplates – reagents and product plates, and our microfluidic station, where up to four MOVe™ microfluidic chips can be mounted. The MOVe technology includes built-in thermocyclers, for automated Sanger sequencing, and a series of microfluidic valves configured to act as a pump, controlling the direction of flow and pumping reagents around the microchip for magnetic bead clean-up. Prepared samples are then transferred into the product plate, ready for the user to just place in the sequencer.”

“Currently the Apollo 100 is the only product on the market dedicated to sample preparation for Sanger sequencing. It can run 96 samples at a time, with full walkaway automation, freeing staff time for other tasks and eliminating potential human errors that could lead to expensive repeat runs. The small reaction volumes of approximately 1 μl decrease the amount of precious sample that is required, significantly reducing the amount of Big Dye and magnetic beads used and substantially lowering the cost per sample. The complete cycle takes four hours, including a 30 minute chip cleaning procedure at the end of the cycle, allowing the user to process two plates a day. Throughput can be further increased, compared to a manual method, by running a third plate overnight. The Apollo 100 will

COMPONENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

The Apollo 100 team at IntegenX: (left to right) Bill Metz, Mike Recknor, Chris Beite, David Wyrick, Roger McIntosh and James Nelson

layer mineral oil on top of the plate, keeping it completely stable and ready to be placed in the sequencer in the morning. This is a big advantage when urgent samples are received too late in the day to be processed manually.”

For more information on IntegenX, Inc., visit www.integenx.com

James concluded: “At the moment Apollo 100 is only available in the US, but we will probably go global shortly. We have another product due out in the autumn which uses the same robotic platform and we are looking at other Tecan systems for additional applications – potentially next generation sequencing – in the future.”

Big Dye and XTerminator are registered trademarks of Life Technologies, Inc.

To find out more about Tecan’s Cavro MSP, visit www.tecan.com/components

MOVe is a trademark of IntegenX, Inc.

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DRuG DISCOVERy TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Faster Pharma Tecan’s MultiChannel Arm™ 384 (MCA 384) has revolutionized the laboratory workflow in the Division of Cancer Research at the Institut de Recherches Servier, allowing scientists to simultaneously process multiple assay plates for compound screening, as well as increasing the number of compound and enzyme combinations tested per run.

Servier is the leading independent pharmaceutical company in France, specializing in pharmaceutical research and development for oncology, metabolic conditions, and cardiovascular and central nervous system diseases. The Company’s Cancer Research facility, situated on the outskirts of Paris, focuses on hit-to-lead and lead optimization for new therapeutic targets, using a range of enzymatic and cellular assays for compound screening.

To improve the laboratory’s throughput, the team uses automated screening techniques, as Thomas Edmonds, pharmacology research technician, explained: “We originally started automating our liquid transfer protocols seven years ago, and purchased our first Tecan liquid handling system in 2004. This original Freedom EVO® 150 instrument was equipped with an eight-channel liquid handling (LiHa) arm. A robotic manipulator

(RoMa) arm was later added, allowing us to perform low to medium throughput primary compound screening. As our panel of assays has developed, we have found it necessary to increase the flexibility of our system, in terms of the number of enzymes that can be tested per compound and the number of compounds that can be tested in parallel. To achieve this, we needed the option to work in either 96-well or, preferably, 384-well plate formats, and so upgraded to a new Freedom EVO platform with an MCA 384 pipetting arm in addition to the eight-channel LiHa arms. This new arm is equipped with a 384-channel pipetting head and both 96and 384-channel adaptors for buffer transfer and plate replication, as well as a gripper option for plate manipulation. By using this multi-functional arm in conjunction with the LiHa arm for enzyme dispensing, we are able to schedule multiple assay plates per run, with the LiHa and MCA operating simultaneously. This is a major advantage for us, allowing the system to set up the next plate while the previous one is running, and increasing our throughput rate.”

drug discovery TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Thomas continued: “Both the MCA and LiHa arms are set up to use disposable tips, and our platform has sufficient storage capacity for our needs, holding up to twelve 50 μl MCA disposable tip boxes and four 125 μl boxes. Each plate contains 12 concentrations of 15 different compounds in duplicate – plus 3 controls – offering a capacity of up to 60 compounds per run. We have two major assay protocols, with incubation times of 40 and 100 minutes, giving total run times of four and six hours respectively, for four 384-well plates. By running several shorter assays during the day, and one longer protocol overnight, we are able to maximize throughput of the Freedom EVO system.”

“Each compound is tested with around five different enzymes, using time-resolved FRET (TR-FRET) assays based on LANCE® technology. The Tecan platform is equipped with a variety of modules to allow complete

automation of these protocols, including a cryostat, several plate shakers and shaking incubators set at 22 °C for plate incubations and 4 °C for enzyme and reagent storage.”

“When the workstation was first installed, an application specialist from Tecan spent time setting up the platform to ensure seamless integration of these additional modules, as well as assisting us in developing our assay scripts. Despite being such a complex system, it took only a short time to set up the original eight programs, and we have since developed a further two scripts which perform functions downstream of the secondary compound screens. The panel of enzymes we use for compound testing is continually expanding, but it is quite straightforward to adapt the schedule from one protocol to another, depending on the type of enzyme being assayed. We have a general protocol for a

majority of our assays, and have adjusted the biological parameters – such as reaction volume and incubation time – to perform parallel processing of multiple enzymes on a single protocol. Tecan has been very helpful in the installation of this screening platform, and we have an excellent working relationship with the Company’s engineers, who are willing to help us with any changes to the system or software and, overall, are very efficient.” Thomas concluded.

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVO workstation and Drug Discovery Solutions, visit www.tecan.com/mca384 www.tecan.com/drugdiscovery LANCE is a registered trademark of PerkinElmer, Inc.

Jacques Van Opstal (Application Specialist, Tecan France) and Thomas Edmonds (Research Technician, Institut de Recherches Servier) with the Freedom EVO platform

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Genomics TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

First choice for quality and reliability The Regional Molecular Genetics Service (RMGS) is a genetic diagnostic testing facility based at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, UK. The laboratory provides a wide range of genetic testing services for patients in the North West region of England, as well as participating in a variety of national and international genetic studies and screening programmes, processing around 10,000 samples a year for diagnostic purposes.

St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester, is using a fully automated DNA extraction system based on a Freedom EVO® workstation.

This system provides walkaway extraction of DNA from blood samples by combining a Freedom EVO 150 liquid handling platform with chemagen’s proven nucleic isolation technology.

In 2009, the RMGS moved into a purpose-built laboratory in the new St Mary’s Hospital building and, as part of this transition, looked for a new DNA extraction system to replace its existing centrifugation-based method.

Auto Q Biosciences Ltd, the UK distributor for chemagen Biopolymer-Technologie AG, was chosen to provide a fully automated DNA extraction system using the chemagic nucleic acid separation system, and selected Tecan’s Freedom EVO liquid handling platform to provide complete automation of all liquid handling processes. Kudrat Rahman, Business Development Director at Auto Q Biosciences, explained why the Company chose to work with Tecan: “The RMGS required a robust solution capable of fully automating its DNA extraction process – from blood tubes right through to archive tubes – without the need for manual intervention. Although several other manufacturers were able to provide this level of hands-free operation, the RMGS needed a very reliable system capable of performing the extraction with minimal alteration to its existing protocols.

We were aware that the Freedom EVO workstation had already been successfully combined with chemagic instruments at several other sites across Europe, and Tecan’s open software architecture and excellent reputation for reliability made it an obvious choice.”

The automated DNA extraction workstation consists of a Freedom EVO 150 platform equipped with a 4-channel liquid handling (LiHa) arm using disposable tips, a PosID™ scanner and a robotic manipulator

Genomics TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

(RoMa) arm with an extended Z-axis.

The integrated chemagic instrument is accessed via a port on the right hand side of the workstation, and the entire system is enclosed within a Class 1 biological safety cabinet, supplied by Bigneat Ltd. This setup allows safe, walkaway extraction of up to 24 whole blood samples at a time. The workstation was installed in July 2009, and was commissioned and validated for routine use without the RMGS team to re-optimize downstream processes as Project Manager Stuart Bayliss explained: “A smooth transition from our old DNA extraction method to the new system was a key factor in choosing the chemagen/Tecan solution supplied by Auto Q Biosciences.

The flexibility of this system allowed us to retain virtually all of our existing protocols, accelerating the validation process and minimizing the impact on our laboratory’s workflow. The chemagen instrument was shipped directly to Tecan to develop the automated scripts and protocols according

to our requirements, and the entire system was set up in a bespoke biological safety cabinet. Once installed within the new laboratory, Tecan’s engineers ensured the system was operating correctly, and provided full on-site training for our laboratory staff.

They have also been very helpful in refining the protocols as our needs have changed, and we are very pleased with the level of service we receive.”

“This local support from Tecan was also an important factor in Auto Q Biosciences choosing the Freedom EVO platform,” Kudrat added. “As the Tecan/chemagen system is supplied by Auto Q Biosciences as a complete package, the speed and efficiency of Tecan’s support reflects directly on us.

We have been very happy with Tecan’s professionalism and flexible approach on this project, and are now recommending Tecan instruments to all customers wishing to invest in this type of system. In addition, we are also in discussion with Tecan about

providing automated liquid handling solutions for several other projects.”

“The system runs for eight hours a day, five days a week, and is proving to be very reliable,” Stuart concluded. “It has certainly exceeded our expectations in terms of efficiency, and is a significant step forward from our previous method. We are currently processing approximately 6,000 whole blood samples a year using the platform, and are now looking into automation of DNA extraction processes for saliva and cell culture samples to further increase our productivity.”

To find out more on Tecan’s genomic solutions, visit www.tecan.com/genomics

The Freedom EVO workstation is housed within a Class 1 biological safety cabinet to protect both users and sample integrity

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LIQuID HANDLING TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

ARUP Institute develops novel 104-well microplate The ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology® (ARUP), based in Salt Lake City, USA, has chosen the Freedom EVO® liquid handling platform for automating RIA and ELISA assays, developing a novel 104-well microplate to increase sample throughput.

Mark Herrmann and Tanya Sandrock

The ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology, an enterprise of the University of Utah and its Department of Pathology, was established in 1996 to expand the quantity, quality, and utility of laboratory medicine. The Institute aims to be at the forefront of innovative research and development in clinical and experimental laboratory medicine and covers four broad project areas; development of new laboratory tests, improvement of current clinical laboratory tests, evaluation and critique of tests, and conducting basic and clinical research projects.

The development of a novel 104-well plate stemmed from a need for additional sample capacity when running radioimmunoassay (RIA). Mark Herrmann, Research Scientist, of ARUP’s advanced technology group, explained: “The assay in question uses solid phase extraction, and involved transferring the extraction from 5 ml to 1 ml columns

so that it could be performed in a 96-well format. When we looked at the downstream procedure of the assay, we realized that after having extracted the full 96 samples we would need an additional two positions to accommodate the RIA control samples.

The assay is always performed in duplicate, so the original master plate, consisting of 96 extracted samples, is split into two daughter plates for RIA. Once the controls are introduced, four plates are required. We had two options – either extract 94 samples instead of 96, or increase the complexity of manipulations downstream, and the potential for error, by using four plates.”

Tanya Sandrock, Research Scientist, of ARUP’s endocrinology R&D department, continued: “This is a task that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is extremely labor intensive, so automation is very important. Using four plates is not practical as it is critical to have the controls on the

same plate as the samples.” Mark added: “As we analyze around 20,000 samples a month, if we reduced sample numbers by two it would take almost a complete day’s work to catch up, so this was not an option either.”

ARUP’s solution was to find a way to incorporate an extra column. Mark explained: “The RIA is performed in glass tubes, so we made custom hardware to accommodate the extra tubes. That allowed us to semiautomate the assay on the Freedom EVO, almost halving the time taken to run an assay. Manual pipetting, with its potential for errors, was eliminated and throughput significantly increased. We wanted to build on this success and wondered how the 104-well plate would work in a typical ELISA. The ELISA is run on Nunc Immuno Module strip plates, so we designed a frame, which matched SBS format dimensions so that it was compatible with automation, to house 13 of these 8-well strips, increasing capacity

LIQuID HANDLING TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

104-well format frames can be used with tube racks or microplates

from 96-wells to a 104-well microplate.”

Tanya commented: “The frames are very inexpensive and can be re-used, so it is very simple and cost effective.”

The 104-well microplate was evaluated using a Freedom EVO liquid handler equipped with LiHa and MCA™ 96 pipetting arms, a HydroFlex™ plate washer and a Safire2™ microplate reader. HydroControl™ V2.0 software controlled the HydroFlex, Magellan™ V6.4 controlled the Safire2, while integration of auxiliary devices and overall programming of the Freedom EVO was controlled by Freedom EVOware® V2.2.

ARUP used Freedom EVOware to create a new plate definition for the 104-well frame and made minor programming adjustments to accommodate pipetting for the extra column of the microplate. HydroControl limits the HydroFlex washer’s motion range to 12 columns, even though mechanically it can access all 13, and this was overcome by

running two programs sequentially, while the Safire2 merely required new plate definitions.

Using the 104-well plate to automate the ELISA allowed ARUP to maintain the original 96-sample plate map by providing additional wells for standards and controls, yet minimal plate processing time was added to the assay. Comparison with assays performed on the traditional 96-well plate showed negligible difference in spectral readings, walkaway automation freed staff time for other tasks and sample throughput was increased. ARUP now plans to look at other assays to see where else the 104-well plate may be used to benefit the clinical laboratory.

Mark concluded: “The 96-well format has been around for many years and is an integral part of the laboratory, but sometimes a little bit more is needed and converting to two plates or 384-wells is

not practical or cost effective. The 104-well plate overcomes this problem, and it should also be possible to extend this to 416- and 1664-wells. Technology now is such that we have the flexibility to work within it if we open our minds. Tecan’s engineers were very open to this new challenge and worked with us to achieve our goal.” Tanya added: “It’s just a matter of having the idea in mind that these things are possible, so that instrumentation evolves in the future to adopt a wider platform.”

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVO workstations, visit www.tecan.com/freedomevo To find out more on ARUP, visit www.aruplab.com/ Research&Development/research_main.jsp ARUP Institute for Clinical and Experimental Pathology is a registered trademark of ARUP Laboratories.

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CORPORATE NEWS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

30 years of Tecan We are proud to have been true pioneers in the liquid handling market for three decades, and we really hope you value your Tecan as much as we love making them for you. As Tecan turns 30, here is how we celebrated across the world.

Headquarters Tecan Group Ltd., Seestrasse 103, CH-8708 M채nnedorf, Switzerland info@tecan.com, www.tecan.com Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA www.tecan.com

Happy Birthday

TE104462_Greetings_Cards_A5.indd 13-14

08/01/2010 01:36

Happy Birthday Tecan! March 18th (1980)

30 years Tecan Party in Switzerland

30 years celebration in Japan with customers and Tecan employees

Tecan employees worldwide donate time to help charity organizations and assist on other occasions

CORPORATE NEWS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Party on! 80’s party with Tecan US

Salzburg

2010

Third Tecan

Symposium

For more information about 30 years of Tecan, visit www.tecan.com/history

Want to know more about our We love our Tecan campaign?

Go to www.tecan.com/weloveourtecan

30 years celebrations in Shanghai with customers and Tecan employees

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events TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Blood bank delegation from China Tecan has only been present in China since 2004, but significant Government investment has led to rapid expansion in the country’s life science sector, and Tecan has enjoyed strong growth in this market through close co-operation with local distributors.

Since the opening of its new Asia Pacific headquarters in Shanghai in 2008, Tecan has been able to offer unsurpassed local experience to customers in China, providing rapid service support and application expertise to match the fast-paced development of the market. The Company continues to invest in its infrastructure, services and market organization in the region, expanding its presence to better meet the demands of its customers. Blood banks form an important part of the laboratory automation sector in China. As part of the Company’s ongoing program to ensure its solutions address customers’ exact requirements, Tecan and its local distributor recently invited the directors and presidents of blood banks from across China to its Männedorf headquarters on Lake Zürich, Switzerland, to discuss future opportunities and the needs of the market.

“This event provided an opportunity to see Tecan’s manufacturing and automation capabilities firsthand,” commented Christoph Kaufmann, Head of Product Management and Marketing at Tecan. “The day included a tour of our facilities, where delegates were impressed by our high quality standards and ability to meet the strict regulatory demands of the clinical sector.”

The group was also provided with insight into Tecan’s current and future innovations in this market segment, including details of automated solutions available, and

Chinese delegates visit Tecan headquarters at Männedorf

learned more about the Company’s strong commitment to the laboratory automation market in China. This was followed by an open discussion on future market trends, and how automation can be used to help meet these demands. “The day provided useful insight into a range of issues currently facing the Chinese market, and underpins our philosophy of developing close working relationships with our customers around the world,” Christoph concluded.

Specially designed racks make sample loading safe and easy

EVENTS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

An island of tranquility at Expo Shanghai 2010 This year’s spectacular Shanghai Expo, based on the central theme ‘Better City, Better Life’, is a showcase for the latest and greatest innovations the world has to offer. 400,000 visitors a day, an expected 70 million people over the six month event, will have the opportunity to see amazing new ideas, particularly those focusing on urban strategies and sustainable development. But, even in such a busy and hectic event, there is still an opportunity to grab a few minutes peace and quiet, thanks to a huge golden teardrop and a Freedom EVO® platform.

“This is an absolute highlight in our Pavilion,” said Jiri Suchanek, Deputy Manager of the Czech Pavilion. “It is a perfect combination of art and technology, and embodies the spirit of Czeknowlogy.”

The Czech Pavilion includes the exhibit ‘LACRIMAu in Czeknowlogy’, a glass sound-proof room where art and technology meet. In the shadow of LACRIMAu – a golden teardrop – modern sensory and brainwave technology, incorporated into a headband worn by visitors, capture each individual’s emotions. The sensors analyze this information and formulate a personal and unique fragrance blend from 42 different ingredients. The visitor can then watch as Tecan’s state-of-the-art Freedom EVO 75 liquid handling platform automatically mixes and prepares a small vial of their own personal perfume before their eyes.

For obvious reasons, the platform chosen had to be particularly robust to withstand the rigors of continual use in a busy exhibition environment for this extended period of time. “The engineers from Tecan Shanghai office have provided excellent support, ensuring reliable operation and minimal downtime,” added Jiri. “The demonstration is certainly attracting a lot of visitors, and we are delighted that the system has run so smoothly.”

Pipetting perfumery ingredients can be difficult, as most fragrances are highly volatile substances which evaporate rapidly and so are contained in small bottles with septum caps. The Freedom EVO 75, equipped with a single tip, pierces through the cap in order to blend the final formulation.

For more information on Tecan and the Freedom EVO liquid handling workstation, please visit www.tecan.com/freedomevo

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CLINICAL DIAGNOSTICS TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Walkaway automation for infectious disease testing Vestfold Hospital Trust in Norway has chosen the Freedom EVOlyzer® for automation of ELISA assays in its microbiology laboratory in Tønsberg.

Liv Brown (left) and Wenche Petterson with the Freedom EVOlyzer

Vestfold Hospital Trust and its microbiology laboratory in Tønsberg, Norway

Vestfold Hospital Trust, part of the South-East Norway Regional Health Authority, provides services to a highly populated area in the south east of Norway through its hospitals in Tønsberg and Larvik. Sykehuset i Vestfold-Tønsberg is the Trust’s academic and administrative center, and home to several laboratories.

The laboratories process samples from both Tønsberg and Larvik hospitals – as well as receiving samples from doctor’s surgeries in the region – for microbiology, immunology, clinical chemistry and infectious disease testing.

We chose a Freedom EVOlyzer 150 workstation equipped with an eight-channel liquid handling (LiHa) arm using disposable tips, a HydroFlex™ microplate washer, a Sunrise™ absorbance reader and ambient and heated incubators. This set-up is very efficient for processing the numerous ELISA assays that we use, and we can run two batches a day, with up to four different assays at a time. The volume pre-check feature is particularly useful, as it allows the instrument to determine in advance whether or not there are sufficient reagents available to complete the run.”

correspond to our routine daily schedules, and can be quickly adapted to accommodate any changes we require.”

Wenche Petterson, Team Leader in the serological section, explained: “The laboratory is divided into three sections – bacteriology, serology and PCR – and provides extensive diagnostics. We already had an old Tecan platform which was used to perform sample dilutions, but needed a system capable of fully automating ELISA processing, allowing unattended operation.

“The system is controlled by Freedom EVOlution™ software, which is easy to use and has graphical loading instructions to virtually eliminate operator errors. It also interfaces directly with our LIMS for streamlined reporting, printing and auditing, and results are analyzed using Magellan™ data reduction software. Our assays are conveniently grouped into profiles that

“Tecan’s application specialists have been very helpful, assisting us to configure the platform to meet our needs and offering support during the validation phase. We are also planning to add new assays in the future, to further improve the service we are able to offer to medical practitioners in the region,” Wenche concluded.

To find out more on Tecan’s Freedom EVOlyzer workstations, visit www.tecan.com/freedomevolyzer

TALK TO TECAN TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Yingguang Wu, Tecan Marketing Manager MU AP

Leading the debate The Chinese life science market is growing and maturing even quicker than industry experts predicted, backed by significant support and finance from local Government.

In the private sector, although pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Operations continue to set up laboratories in the Government-owned science parks, such as the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai, some larger multinationals are now moving out of these incubator facilities and establishing their own far larger, purpose-built buildings.

Similarly, life science in the public sector will grow as universities and institutes start to benefit from the third phase of Government investment to develop the drug discovery process in China. This injection of funding includes a shift from academia to industry, with the Government welcoming and recruiting domestic pharmaceutical companies to join the state drug discovery program from the year 2011.

Naturally, as research activities in both sectors increase, so automation requirements change. The question now faced by laboratories is whether to opt for complex integrated systems or discrete automated processes, albeit still linked by LIS. Newly-formed smaller laboratories may still only want basic automation but, for more established facilities, the advantages of comprehensive automated solutions for streamlining workflows are more attractive. Either way, Tecan is uniquely positioned to help customers implement their workflows, from the simple to the complex. We have the capability and experience on the ground in China to guide customers who are familiar with automation, but don’t necessarily have the in-house expertise, as well as those who would rather concentrate on driving the science forward, and don’t have the time or inclination to establish their own screening methodologies.

Email talk@tecan.com to tell us what you think about the dynamics between discrete automated processes and fully automated solutions, or any other life science topic of your choice.

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EVENTS 2010 TECAN JOURNAL 3/2010

Meet Tecan at these events from now until December of this year Americas

BioProcess International 2010

Providence, RI

20 – 24 Sept 2010

International Symposium on Human Identification

San Antonio, TX

11 – 14 Oct 2010

Microarray World Congress

San Diego, CA

28 – 29 Oct 2010

American Society of Human Genetics

Washington, DC

02 – 06 Nov 2010

Analytica China 2010

Shanghai, China

15 – 17 Sept 2010

8th International Conference on Plant Biology Frontiers: Cells and Signals

Wuyishan, China

23 – 27 Sept 2010

OzBio2010 Conference

Melbourne, Australia

26 Sept – 01 Oct 2010

The Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics

Saitama, Japan

07 – 08 Oct 2010

AACB AIMS Combined Scientific Meeting 2010

Perth, Australia

25 – 29 Oct 2010

BioMalaysia 2010

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

02 – 04 Nov 2010

5 National Congress of the CSBT and China Forum on Transfusion Medicine 2010

Chengdu, China

04 – 07 Nov 2010

Taiwan International Instrument Exhibition

Taipei, Taiwan

11 – 14 Nov 2010

AH & MR Congress 2010

Melbourne, Australia

14 – 18 Nov 2010

Lab Managers Conference 2010

Brisbane, Australia

22 – 24 Nov 2010

1st Annual SBS China Conference

Shanghai, China

07 – 09 Dec 2010

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 2010

Kobe, Japan

07 – 10 Dec 2010

Miptec 2010

Basel, Switzerland

21 – 24 Sept 2010

HET Instrument

Amsterdam, Netherlands

28 Sept – 01 Oct 2010

Biotech Forum & Scanlab

Copenhagen, Denmark

28 Sept – 01 Oct 2010

Asia and Pacific

th

Europe, Middle East and Africa

Tecan. For all your laboratory automation needs.

Liquid Handling & Robotics | Detection | Components | Services & Consumables

Headquarters: Tecan Group Ltd., Seestrasse 103, CH-8708 Männedorf, Switzerland T +41 44 922 88 88 F +41 44 922 88 89 info@tecan.com

Tecan Austria +43 62 46 89 33 Belgium +32 15 42 13 19 China +86 21 289 86 333 Denmark +45 70 23 44 50 France +33 4 72 76 04 80 Germany +49 79 51 94 170 Italy +39 02 92 44 790 Japan +81 44 556 73 11 Netherlands +31 18 34 48 17 4 Portugal +351 21 000 82 16 Singapore +65 644 41 886 Spain +34 93 490 01 74 Sweden +46 31 75 44 000 Switzerland +41 44 922 89 22 UK +44 118 9300 300 USA +1 919 361 5200 Other countries +43 62 46 89 33

www.tecan.com Tecan Journal, Customer Magazine of Tecan Trading AG., ISSN 1660-5276 Design: OTM/London www.otmcreate.com Photography: Marc Wetli/Zürich www.wetli.com, Günter Bolzern/Zürich www.bolzern.net, Susanne Völlm/Zürich www.susannevoellm.ch Editor in Chief: Tecan Trading AG, Cornelia Kegele Project Lead: Tecan Trading AG, Cornelia Kegele/Tanja Kaiser Editor: kdm/UK www.kdm-communications.com Print: DAZ Druckerei Albisrieden AG/Zurich www.daz.ch Address: Tecan Trading AG, Marketing Communications, Seestrasse 103, CH-8708 Männedorf, Switzerland, journal@tecan.com, www.tecan.com To register for the Tecan Journal please go to www.tecan.com/journal © 2010 Tecan Trading AG, Switzerland, all rights reserved.

Tecan Group Ltd. makes every effort to include accurate and up-to-date information within this publication, however, it is possible that omissions or errors might have occurred. Tecan Group Ltd. cannot, therefore, make any representations or warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this publication. Changes in this publication can be made at any time without notice. All mentioned trademarks are protected by law. In general, the trademarks and designs referenced herein are trademarks, or registered trademarks, of Tecan Group Ltd., Mannedorf, Switzerland. A complete list may be found at www.tecan.com/trademarks.

Product names and company names that are not contained in the list but are noted herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. For technical details and detailed procedures of the specifications provided in this document please contact your Tecan representative.

This journal may contain reference to applications and products which are not available in all markets. Please check with your local sales representative: www.tecan.com/contact