Sample Processing Instruments

Bioresearch Support Core

Beckman Echo650 Acoustic Liquid Handler

Beckman Echo 650 Acoustic Liquid Handler is a nanoliter (nl) range liquid handler capable of transferring liquid from nanoliters to microliters (in multiples of 2.5 nl) using acoustic energy. Dynamic Fluid Analysis ensures accurate liquid transfer of various types of fluids, depending on the fluid properties measured in real-time. This touchless transfer technology requires no tips or pins, thus dramatically reducing carry-overs and cross-contaminations. Echo 650 offers high-throughput compound screenings and sample preparation with great precision and accuracy.

Applications:

384-well qPCR plate preparation
Drug serial dilution and preparation
Drug screening on tissue culture

Standard Operation Protocol – Echo650 Acoustic Liquid Handler
Location: L6-03, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road

Staff-in-charge: Mr. Lau, Yin (Percy) | 3917 9443 | bioresearch.cpos@hku.hk

Formulatrix Mantis Liquid Handler

Formulatrix Mantis is a microliter range liquid handler capable of transferring liquid from 0.1 µl (in multiples of 0.1 µl – 100 µl) with high precision and accuracy using microfluidic chips. Pipette tips or centrifuge tubes can be used as reservoirs for high-speed dispensing to the destination plate of various formats.

Applications:

NGS sample preparation
Reagent or cell dispensing for bioassays
qPCR reaction preparation
Drug library dilution

Detailed Configuration – Mantis
Standard Operation Protocol – Formulatrix Mantis
Location: L6-03, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road
Staff-in-charge: Mr. Lau, Yin (Percy) | 3917 9443 | flow.cpos@hku.hk

Diagenode Bioruptor Pico UltraSonication System

Diagenode Bioruptor Pico Ultrasonication System is an all-in-one ultrasonication shearing system optimized for the fragmentation of cells, chromatin, nucleic acids, and proteins for various molecular applications. With a built-in cooling system, it ensures high-precision temperature control, resulting in higher quality samples. High-throughput sonication in parallel of up to 16 samples with continuous rotation of tubes allows even distribution of the energy for efficient sonication. Options of 0.1-, 0.2-, 0.65-, 1.5-, or 15-ml sealed tubes enable shearing micro-volumes from 5 µl to 2 ml.

Applications:

Sample preparation for Chromatin Immunoprecipitation
DNA shearing for NGS library preparation
DNA or protein extraction from cells or FFPE samples

Detailed Configuration – Bioruptor Sonicator Pico System
Standard Operation Protocol – Bioruptor Sonicator Pico System

Location: L6-01, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road
Staff-in-charge: Mr. CHEUNG, Alan | 3917 9442 | bioresearch.cpos@hku.hk

Waters AutoPurification LC/MS Systems

Waters AutoPurification Systems offer preparative-scale chromatography for purifying synthetic small molecules or bioactive compounds from crude sources (such as extracts from natural products). Equipped with both quadrupole (QDa) and Photodiode Array (PDA) detectors, this prep LC/MS system provides flexibility for mass-directed or absorbance-directed fraction collection with high-throughput automation. The Waters AutoPurification Systems can also be run in analytical mode for the characterization of small molecule compounds.

Applications:

Quality checking of synthetic products/fractionated extracts
Purification of synthetic/extracted components
Concentrating bioactive compounds

Detailed Configuration – Waters AutoPurification LC/MS Systems
Standard Operation Protocol – Waters AutoPurification LC/MS Systems

Location: L6-01, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road
Staff-in-charge: Mr. SZE Jarrel | 3910 2937 | bioresearch.cpos@hku.hk

BCN3D SIGMA R19 3D Printer

SIGMA R19 is a high-end 3D printer for high-resolution and high-speed printing. Compatible with a wide range of printing materials and featuring easy-to-use software, SIGMA R19 enables convenient printing of custom-made tools for various purposes, including fabricating devices for unique experimental setups or special molecular/biological structure models for research or teaching purposes.

Promotion Poster

Detailed Configuration – BCN3D R19 Specification

Location: L6-01, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road
Staff-in-charge:Mr. WONG, William | 3910-3523 | bioresearch.cpos@hku.hk

Thermo Verti 96-well Thermal Cycler

Verti 96-well Thermal Cycler is a robust traditional PCR machine for routine molecular analysis. It offers fast ramp rates to reduce PCR cycling time, speeding up PCR experiments. 6 Peltier standard 0.2-mL blocks are available for running up to 6 different annealing temperatures in the same run. The reliable thermal cycling conditions of the Verti Thermal Cycler allow precise PCR optimization and enable researchers to run up to 6 independent assays at the same time.

Detailed Configuration – Verti 96-well Thermal Cycler
Standard Operation Protocol – Verti 96-well Thermal Cycler

Usage charge: Free of charge
Location: L5-03, Laboratory Block, 21, Sassoon Road
Staff-in-charge:Mr. WONG, William | 3910-3523 | bioresearch.cpos@hku.hk

Amaxa Nucleofector™ II system

A high-efficiency transfection system used with proprietary reagents and cuvettes, the Nucleofector system is capable of transfecting DNA, RNA, or proteins into a variety of cells using electroporation technology. It is a powerful tool for transfecting large DNA fragments and achieving good transfection efficiencies in cell lines. It enables highly efficient transfection of primary cells, stem cells, neurons, and cell lines that have traditionally been difficult to transfect by electroporation and other non-viral transfection methods.

Applications: