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D Setting up the AssayMAP Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head overview
Related information
For more information about…
Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head
AssayMAP cartridges
See…
•
“Bravo 96AM Head overview” on page 183
•
“Installing and using the Bravo
•
“Requirements for partial- head liquid handling” on page 218
“AssayMAP cartridge overview” on page 188
Bravo 96AM Head overview
This topic describes:
•
“Bravo 96AM Head components” on page 183
•
“Liquid- handling modes” on page 185
Bravo 96AM Head components
The Bravo 96AM Head components include:
• 96 channels for liquid handling. Each channel consists of a syringe with a probe on the end. A syringe consists of a glass barrel with a plunger and a seal. The syringes can employ a combination of direct- liquid- flow and air- displacement techniques for liquid- handling tasks.
The following figure shows a syringe and a cross- sectional close- up view of the plunger in the probe.
Bravo Automated Liquid-Handling Platform User Guide 183
D Setting up the AssayMAP Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head overview
Figure Bravo 96AM Head, syringe, and detail of probe tip (cross-section)
• Mechanism for removing mounted cartridges and tips. The head has a stripper plate, which is a spring- loaded mechanism that is actuated by the
Bravo gripper assembly. The stripper plate enables the Bravo 96AM Head to remove the cartridges while still holding liquid in the syringes.
Note: The w- axis is the motion of the displacement of the pipettor inside the head. The w- axis is not engaged during cartridge mounting or removal from the head so that fluid can be held in the syringes and probes. For the Tips On and Tips Off tasks, the Bravo w- axis goes to the zero position to empty any fluid contained in the syringes.
Figure Stripper plate on Bravo 96AM Head (front-side view and side view)
184 Bravo Automated Liquid-Handling Platform User Guide
D Setting up the AssayMAP Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head overview
Liquid-handling modes
The Bravo 96AM Head features include the ability to:
• Transfer liquids directly with the bare probes, through AssayMAP cartridges mounted on the probes, and using mounted 250- µL largetransfer (LT) tips
• Mount or remove the cartridges while holding liquid in the syringes
• Provide precise control of flow rates and volume required for moving fluid through the packed resin in the cartridges
• Access 96- well and 384- well microplates
• Perform 96- channel liquid handling or partial- head liquid handling using a subset of the 96 channels
Protocols for the Bravo 96AM Head can employ a combination of the following liquid- handling modes:
• Bare probes
• AssayMAP cartridges mounted on the probes
• 250- µL LT tips mounted on the probes
Capabilities of each liquid-handling mode
The following figure shows a side- by- side comparison of a bare probe, a probe with a mounted cartridge, and a probe with a mounted 250- µL LT tip. The following table provides the details for each.
Figure Comparison of probe, probe with cartridge, and probe with 250-µL LT tip
1 2 3
Item
1
Mode
Bare probe
Description
• Maximum volume: 250 µL can be aspirated into the syringe before the syringe is full.
• Only 96- channel (full head) liquid handling is supported.
• As the tips of the syringes, the probes can be in direct contact with the samples for liquid- handling tasks.
Bravo Automated Liquid-Handling Platform User Guide 185
D Setting up the AssayMAP Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head overview
Item Mode
2
3
Description
AssayMAP cartridge
Disposable
250 µL LT tip
• Maximum volume: 250 µL can be pulled through the cartridge into the syringe before the syringe is full.
• Either all 96 or a subset of the liquid- handling channels are supported.
• When cartridges are mounted on the probes, the syringes can push or pull liquids through the resin bed of the cartridges.
• Maximum volume: 150 µL can be pulled into a mounted tip before the excess fluid overflows into the syringe. The probe protrudes into the tip volume capacity.
• Either all 96 or a subset of the liquid- handling channels are supported.
• With tips seated on the probes, the syringes can transfer samples without coming into direct contact with them.
IMPORTANT
If the aspiration volume exceeds the capacity of the disposable tips, the excess fluid will overflow into the syringes. You can clean the probes and syringes by washing at the 96AM Wash Station.
IMPORTANT
The 96AM Cartridge & Tip Seating Station is required to mount a partial head of tips.
Note: Disposable tips mount approximately 9.68 mm
(0.15- inch) lower relative to the housing of a Bravo
96AM Head than they would relative to the housing of a standard 96LT Head.
CAUTION
Extended use of the Bravo 96AM Head with dry syringes for disposable-tip liquid handling can shorten the life of the syringe seals.
Examples of each liquid-handling mode
The following figure shows how liquid moves through a mounted cartridge, through a bare probe, and into a mounted disposable tip.
186 Bravo Automated Liquid-Handling Platform User Guide
D Setting up the AssayMAP Bravo Platform
Bravo 96AM Head overview
Figure Syringe-and-probe liquid-handling modes (cutaway views)
Probe
Syringe plunger
Cartridge
Inlet seal
5 µL bed
Cartridge aspirate
Cartridge dispense
Direct probe
Disposable tip
• Cartridge aspirate. A series of different liquids can be pulled up through the cartridge bed in sequence without removing the mounted cartridges and washing out the syringes in between the different aspirate steps.
• Cartridge dispense. Cartridges can be mounted while the syringes contain liquids. The liquid in the syringes can be dispensed down through the mounted cartridges at precisely controlled flow rates for different types of tasks.
For example, you can dispense equilibration buffer down through the mounted cartridges for priming and equilibration tasks, and you can dispense elution buffer through the mounted cartridges to recover eluate in a microplate.
• Direct probe. Liquid can be aspirated directly into the syringes and transferred using the bare probes.
The cartridges can be removed to dispense the liquid collected in the syringes, wash the syringes, and then aspirate other fluids into the syringes before mounting the cartridges again for additional dispensing steps.
• Disposable tip. As the preceding figure shows, the probe protrudes into the tip volume that is normally used to hold liquid. Therefore, the tip volume capacity is reduced when mounted on a probe.
Related information
For more information about…
AssayMAP cartridges
Bravo 96AM Head
See…
“AssayMAP cartridge overview” on page 188
•
“Bravo 96AM Head overview” on page 183
•
“Installing and using the Bravo
•
“Requirements for partial- head liquid handling” on page 218
Bravo Automated Liquid-Handling Platform User Guide 187
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