FAQs:
  1. What are the main differences between the ATS-100 and other nanoliter-volume liquid handling devices?
  2. What is acoustic dispensing?
  3. What is True Non-Contact Technology™?
  4. What advantages does True Non-Contact Technology™ have over convention liquid handling?
  5. How does the ATS-100 dispense liquid using acoustic energy?
  6. Why does the ATS-100 NOT measure the concentration of DMSO/Water?
  7. What wellplates can the ATS-100 use?
  8. What liquids can I transfer using the ATS-100?
  9. What is the throughput of the ATS-100?
  10. What is the dead-volume on the ATS-100?
  11. How much bench space does the ATS-100 require?
  12. What facilities will I need to install an ATS-100?
  13. How can I evaluate the ATS-100?
ANSWERS:
  1. What are the main differences between the ATS-100 and other nanoliter-volume liquid handling devices?
    The following link will list all the advantages you will find with the ATS-100 over alternative devices.
    (Download Top Reasons to Choose the ATS-100) Download Top Reasons to Choose the ATS-100

  2. What is acoustic dispensing?
    Acoustic dispensing is focusing a pressure wave of sound towards the surface of a pool of liquid from below. When the wave impacts the surface, the momentum imparted into the liquid causes it to deform, continue to propagate in the direction of the wave, and break free from its pool if enough momentum has been transferred.
    (View Adobe Flash Animation) Acoustic Dispensing Technology

  3. What is True Non-Contact Technology™?
    Quite simply, it is a means of moving a fluid compound from a source to a target without the use of pins, tips or a capillary device. The transfer is direct and without cross-contamination or carryover.

  4. What advantages does True Non-Contact Technology™ have over convention liquid handling?
    For Assays:
    • No Consumable Pipette Tips
    • No Rinsing or Cleaning Steps (Faster Throughput)
    • No Carryover or Cross-over Contamination
    • No Preset Tip Spacing
    • Picoliter to Nanoliter Transfers
    • Non-destructive Transfer (Low Energy)
    • No Aspiration Required (Low Starting Volumes)
    • Lowest Industry Dead Volumes (<1 µL)
    • Compatible With High Density Wellplates (96, 384, 1536 or 3456) (Lower Overall Cost)
    For Arraying:
    • No Rinsing or Cleaning Steps
    • No Carryover or Cross-over Contamination
    • No Predetermined Pattern
    • Excellent Droplet Morphology
    • Quantitative Delivery
    • Spot-on-Spot Array Formation
    • Use nL (vs. µL) To Prepare Print Solutions

  5. How does the ATS-100 dispense liquid using acoustic energy?
    (View Adobe Flash Animation) ATS-100 Acoustic Dispensing Process
    .
  6. Why does the ATS-100 NOTmeasure the concentration of DMSO/Water?
    At EDC Biosystems, we have designed and built an acoustic dispenser that is able to maintain a high level of performance without requiring to know this parameter. In fact, the ATS-100 is the only acoustic liquid dispensing device on the market that can precisely dispense any concentration of DMSO from 0 to 100% (or any other type of liquid) without needing to change the liquid calibration or make adjustments. With True Non-Contact Technology™ the complexities of acoustic dispensing are reduced to a simple function where the more energy is inputted, the more liquid volume is transferred no matter what liquid is used. For solutions in eliminating the threat of water on the stability of compounds stored in DMSO, please refer to the EDC Biosystems Tube-Dowser that can measure the concentration of DMSO in individual storage tubes to within 1%.
    (Download Tube-Dowser Brochure) Download Tube-Dowser Brochure

  7. What wellplates can the ATS-100 use?
    The ATS-100 can use almost any wellplate as a destination. It only needs to be capable of being held by the SBS/ANSI footprint formatted gripper and have a combined height with the source wellplate of 30mm or less. As for source plates, the ATS-100 can use a wide variety of plates conventionally available off the shelf that have a flat bottom and are made from an acoustically compatible material (i.e., polystyrene, cyclo-olefin plastics, high-density polypropylene). A list of pre-qualified plates is also available to simplify your experiment design. Please refer to the following file.
    (Download ATS-100 Source Wellplate List) Download ATS-100 Source Wellplate List

  8. What liquids can I transfer using the ATS-100?
    Unlike some other technologies on the market, the ATS-100 utilizes low-energy acoustic technology to transfer liquids. Not only does this approach make it possible for the safe transfer of delicate biological materials, it also greatly simplifies the necessary interface enabling the user to easily create new calibrations for as many types of liquids as desired. To date EDC Biosystems has successfully transferred a wide range of biological fluids including various types of microarray printing buffers, protein solutions, DMSO solutions (0 to 100% concentrations), inhibitors, activators, compounds, glycerol solutions (0 to 10%), BSA, cell lysates, and even live cells.

  9. What is the throughput of the ATS-100?
    The throughput of the ATS-100 will of course depend upon how the user has chosen to set up the instrument (e.g., if barcodes are being read, if the fine-alignment feature is being used, if the deionizer is being used, etc.) and the type of map that is being run. But to give a general idea, the ATS-100 can perform 384 plate replications in under 3 minutes, 1536 replications in under 5 minutes, and 3456 replications in under 12 minutes. Larger volume transfers are typically what increases the throughput time the most. For 384 transfers of 250nL each well the throughput time on the ATS-100 goes up to about 5 minutes per plate. For more details please contact the distributor in your area.

  10. What is the dead-volume on the ATS-100?
    The dead-volume on the ATS-100 is actually more precisely defined by the liquid level height; and that is 0.25 mm. Since the liquid height translates into a different volume for each type of plate due to differing well geometry, for example, 0.25 mm roughly translates into something slightly less than 1.0 µL for the 1536 Aurora ChemLib plate.

  11. How much bench space does the ATS-100 require?
    The ATS-100 footprint is approximately 28in x 30in (71cm x 76cm) and it stands about 28in tall (76cm). Since the computer is already built inside this unit, you will not require additional bench space for this. Additionally, the acoustic coupling fluid is also internally contained and circulated, thus, not requiring additional floor space for any chiller or water recirculation system. It is, however, recommended that you have approximately 24in x 30in of extra desk space next to the unit in order to have a comfortable amount of working space as well as to place a keyboard and flat panel monitor. These plug directly into the back of the ATS-100.

  12. What facilities will I need to install an ATS-100?
    The ATS-100 only requires clean dry air (60-80psi, 2ft˛/min) and three 120VAC 50/60 Hz (or 230 VAC 50 Hz) outlets. House vacuum/external vacuum generator, continuous water supply/external recirculation system, and drainage are NOT required.

  13. How can I evaluate the ATS-100?
    Please contact the distributor covering your area.
    Click here for a list of our distributors.


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