4titude’s® 4LAB™ is an automated, high-precision pipetting system specifically designed for low-volume liquid handling. For acceptable PCR results, small volumes of reagents need to be dispensed accurately and consistently, which is tedious, time consuming and prone to human error.
It is available as a 4-position and a 6-position workstation.
4LAB™ is designed to replace manual PCR/qPCR sample preparation. Accuracy, precision and consistency are guaranteed, and reagent wastage is reduced. Unlike complex, multi-purpose robotic systems, our instrument was designed for the researcher without prior robotic experience.
Intuitive set up and programming will save your laboratory time and money straight away.
Easy and Convenient to Use
- PC software can be mastered in an hour
- No trained technician required
- Built-in set-up protocols can be quickly modified and transferred via USB memory stick
- Single and 8-channel, 50 µl or 200 µl automated pipetting modules can be changed without tools
- 4 interchangeable standard microplate / tip rack adapters and 2 interchangeable reagent vessel adapters available
- Other applications include sequencing set-up, HLA typing and SNP detection, etc.
Affordable Solution
- The most affordable automated pipetting system available
- Uses tips that are compatible with Beckman® Biomek® NX, FX & 3000
- Cooling block adapters keep sensitive reagents / samples at 7 °C for over an hour
- Save reagent costs by human error reduction and using low volume PCR plates
Easy to Service
- The automated pipetting modules are simple to remove and can be returned for service and calibration
- The entire system is compact and light-weight
Accurate and Precise
- Each automated pipetting module is calibrated to ISO-8655 standards
- Excellent results for qPCR standard curve and replicates (Figure 1)
- Higher precision than manual pipetting (Figure 2)
Figure 1: Excellent Serial Dilution Results
7 µl NIH3T3 Cell cDNA sample is diluted in 21 µl water at 1:4 ratio for 4 times.
Roche® LightCycler® 480 real-time thermal cycler and Finnzyme DyNAmo® Flash SYBR® Green qPCR kit (F-415L) were used.
Figure 2: Better Precision Results than Manual Pipetting
Target: Human GAPDH (top curve) was amplified in replicates of 4. 18 µl (master-mix) and 2 µl (cDNA) were pipetted into 20 µl reaction volume. Roche LightCycler® 480 real-time thermal cycler and Invitrogen Platinum Taq DNA Polymerase were used.
Performance
50 µl Tip on single or 8-channel pipetting module
| 1 µl | 50 µl | |
| Accuracy (Rel.) | ±7% | ±1% |
| Precision (Rel. CV) | ≤7.5% | ≤0.4% |
200 µl Tip on single or 8-channel pipetting module
| 10 µl | 200 µl | |
| Accuracy (Rel.) | ±3% | ±0.8% |
| Precision (Rel. CV) | ≤1% | ≤0.15% |
| Worktable Capacity | 2-3 x 96/384 PCR plates 1-2 x 96 tip racks (50/200 µl) Reagent area 1: 8 x 1.5/2 ml microcentrifuge tubes Reagents area 2: 6 x 2 ml storage tubes (free standing) and 1 x 5 ml bottle |
| Function | Liquid Transfer (LT) Multiple Dispense (MD) Serial Dilution (SD) Hold (Pause) Mixing (MIX) Loop |
| Automated Pipetting Module | Single-channel/8-channel (interchangeable) |
| Maximum Volume | 50 µl/200 µl |
| Connection | RS-232, USB2.00 Hz, 100 W |
| Size (W x D x H) | 590 x 440 x 460 mm |
| Weight (Net) | 25 kg |
