PIRO Personal Pipetting Robot

Product Description

Space wonder

On a very small 600mm x 490mm bench top workspace the PIRO provides a 16 position deck (12 x SBS standard plates and 3 x special format plate positions, 1 waste/tip dispose position). A vast amount of tube formats including 384-well plates to even up to 50ml tubes can be handled by the robot using a wide range of pipette tips (50μl, 200μl and 1000μl).

The PIRO^® Liquid Handling System provides a versatile pipetting platform with many options. A large variety of racks, plates, and tubes are available starting from 0.1ml / 0.2ml / 0.5ml / 0.6ml / 1.5ml / 2.0ml tubes to for example 5.0ml / 7.5ml / 15ml / 50ml tubes with a tube depth of up to 100mm. Deep-well plates, reservoirs, and passive cooling blocks can also be used as well as unusual plate formats for various real time PCR platforms like the Rotor-Gene, SmartCycler, Eco, LightCycler and others.

Plates and tubes can be selected from the PIRO® database included in the software. The PIRO® system can use 50µl, 200µl and 1000 µl tips in order to be precise in low as well as in the higher volume pipetting range. The option of using 1000µl tips provides sample pipetting from primary tubes to up to 50ml with a tube depth up to 100mm. The applications to be used on the PIRO® :

Precision

The PIRO^® Liquid Handling System provides highest precision in the X-, Y- and Z-axis positions. This is due to the stepper motors implemented allowing for steps of 0.0065mm enabling accurate pipetting for all plates and tubes handled by the PIRO^®.

• Coefficient of variation (CV) :

CV < 1% ; 5 - 180μl
CV < 5% ; 2 - 5μl
CV < 10% ; 0.5 - 2μl

• Accurate positioning of the PIRO^® system results in a maximum quality pipetting performance even below 1µl

• Accurate positioning also allows for small liquid volumes to be placed on the wall of a tube, allowing the user to exactly determine where to dispense the liquid

Reproducibility

The PIRO^® Liquid Handling System provides the basis for any PCR or qPCR setup. With the PIRO^® system, automation of any assay setup will guarantee reproducible results, including large numbers of repetitive assays, complicated setups including various mixes, several dilution series in the same run, or normalisations of DNA/RNA samples. Fewer repeats will be needed due to accurate pipetting and human errors can be excluded. What previously has been considered to be a luxury is becoming a necessity today.

Convenient pipetting software

The software of the PIRO^® is easy to program – no training of specialists is required. From simple liquid transfers to highly complex applications – regardless of what it is, it can be programmed within minutes.
The PIRO^® works with comprehensive data logging for all steps in each pipetting project. Any programming step as well as every movement will be recorded and presented in the pre-run report. After completion of the run, this comprehensive record is compiled in a post-run report which includes information about the samples, pipetted volumes, pipetting steps, and recorded exceptions like run interruptions by the user and much more. Results can be exported as various file formats including csv files to be used in downstream applications but also imported from CSV files allowing for PIRO^® run setups to be created outside the PIRO^® software.

Features

Intuitive easy-to-use software Drag and drop programming High speed pipetting Reusable tips Multi-functional plate usage Interchangeable pipetting head Supports any plate format Multiple language Free software upgrades

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

Economy

The PIRO^® reuses tips where possible meaning when for example a liquid is used several times. It also has multi-dispensing functions implemented saving additional tips to be used. Less repeats have to be done due to potential pipetting errors or mixing up of samples. Only required standards created need to be used, resulting in fewer reactions to be done. As the liquid level sensing is working with pressure, clear tips can be used and no conductive tips are needed. This turns the PIRO^® in a cost saving instrument.

Safety

• The PIRO^® Liquid Handling System provides many features for a safe pipetting performance. The hood interlock sensors ensure the instrument pauses when opening the hood during a run. This prevents potential risks while working within the arms reach. Any manipulation will be recorded.

• The newly designed Liquid Level Sensing system uses non-conductive tips and ensures the presence or absence of liquid in a vessel. It also monitors the amount of liquid in each tube during all steps in real time in the protocol. This level sensing can detect as little as 5µl in a 100µl tube.

• The PIRO^® has a tip detection implemented making sure a tip is attached to the pipetting head. If no tip is presented in the tip rack, the pipetting head moves to the next position until it finds a tip to continue the run. A run will therefore not be interrupted.

• The PIRO^® system is set up to prevent any possible contamination risk. As the PIRO^® is designed for the use with qPCR setup the tip handling follows strict defined rules to avoid any cross contamination. Every liquid aspiration is followed by an intake of an air cushion before the transport to the target vessel continues.

• An optionally available UV-light sterilization device provides effective decontamination between the runs. The robots arm is programmed to move during the decontamination process to ensure that UV-light reaches all areas on the deck. A HEPA-Filter is also an option of the PIRO^® providing positive pressure inside the hood. A PIRO^® can either be ordered with the HEPA filter or easily added later.

Specifications

Hood	Integrated frame supported clear acrylic hood
Table capacity 16 positions	12 microplates (SBS standard size) positions, 3 special format positions, 2 waste positions
Auto-stop safety switch	Pipetting auto-stops when opening the hood
LLS	Liquid Level Sensing down to 5μl in 0.1ml tubes with clear non-conductive tips
Pipetting tips	96 racked filtered tips : 50μl, 200μl and 1000μl clear non-conductive tips
Pipetting head (exchangeable)	Single channel 200μl and 1000μl
Pipetting volume range	0.5μl to 1000μl
X-, Y-, Z-axis drive resolution	0.0065mm
Tip disposal	All used tips ejected internally or externally, customer's choice
Pipetting speed	10μl - 200μl/sec, software adjustable
HEPA-Filter (optional)	High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter provides positive pressure
UV sterilization (optional)	UV light system for deck sterilization under closed lid conditions
Precision, Accuracy	CV < 1%, 5μl to 180μl (dry-well transfer)                    CV < 5%, 2μl to 5μl (wet-well transfer)                         CV < 10%, 0.5μl to 2μl (wet-well transfer)
Temperature range	4°C to 35°C
Electrical	100-250VAC, 50-60Hz, 60W
Dimensions (LxWxH)	51.5 x 47.0 x 60.0cm
Weight	45kg
Relative humidity	40% to 70%
Communication	USB
Recommended computer requirements	Windows 7, Intel core 3.2GHz