Sunnyvale, CA, December 10, 2008 – Labcyte Inc. announces the issuance of U.S. Patent 7,405,072, which uses the unique advantages of moving liquids with sound to transfer fluids within a sealed container, free from any physical contact. This process can be applied to the testing of pathogens and other dangerous fluids.
“A pathogen-containing liquid can be introduced into a vessel and permanently sealed. We can then use sound energy to move that liquid with high precision and accuracy within the vessel without ever physically touching the liquid. For example, we can transfer a droplet of a liquid, including blood, from a sample pool within the sealed vessel onto a receiving surface that contains specific test chemistry.” said Chief Technical Officer, Richard Ellson. “Sound waves enter the container, but the pathogens cannot leave. Since acoustic transfer is completely ‘touchless’ and eliminates pipette transfers, there is no contamination of pipette tips, labware, or other samples. Wash solutions are not necessary.”
Acoustic droplet ejection allows volume transfers of a few nanoliters or less. This technology enables miniaturization of biological assays. Transferring liquids within a sealed container minimizes exposure risk for technicians who handle the samples.
About Labcyte Inc.
Labcyte Inc. uses sound to move liquids. This ‘touchless’ technology provides dramatically better answers by eliminating pipette tips and the adsorption of compounds on their surfaces during transfer while saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in decreased consumables. Accuracy is maintained from first drop through last for a wide variety of fluids including many considered intractable by other techniques. The technology is coupled with our Deerac™ instruments to make Labcyte a leader in miniaturizing biological assays. The award-winning Echo® liquid handlers and Portrait® 630 spotters are used in nine of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies, as well as in leading academic and research institutions worldwide. Labcyte technologies have broad applications including the fields of compound management, genomics, proteomics, particle manufacturing, encapsulation, imaging mass spectrometry, and live-cell transfer. Labcyte is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with offices in Dublin, Ireland and has 38 U.S., 6 European and one Japanese patents and additional U.S. and international filings. For more information, visit www.labcyte.com.
