Firma:              Hamilton

Modell:            STAR 8H

Kommentar:   Dokumente engl.

The new Microlab STAR – the Sequential Transfer and Aliquoting Robot— is the new@generation pipetting workstation for high throughput and high precision liquid handling.

Highest Flexibility and Accuracy

The unique features of the Microlab STAR provide a new level of quality, setting up your assays:

- 4.8.12 or 16 independent pipetting channels.

- Flexible use of disposable tips or needles within the same run.

- Unique air displacement pipetting principle — no System liquid, no tubing, no

  contamination.

- Volumes from <1 µl to 1000 µl, with superior accuracy.

- Continuous loading and barcode identification for tubes and microplates.

- Surface detection of all organic and aqueous liquids.

- WIN NT-based, easy-to-use and highly flexible software.

Let the Microlab STAR do your large-scale pipetting tasks — with the maximum reliability and throughput.

No Limits for Your Assays

Liquid Level Detection

The Microlab® STAR features three types of liquid level detection (LLD):

Capacitive LLD

Capacitive liquid level detection can be used to detect the liquid surfaces of all conductive liquids and even non-conductive polar liquids – such as DMSO or deionized water. Even better: HAMILTON's capacitive LLD works in high-density microplate formats.

Pressure LLD

Pressure-based liquid level detection is the choice for non-conductive and non­polar liquids such as oils, organic solvents, etc. The surfaces of all these liquids can be detected during the aspiration step.

Combined Pressure/Capacitive LLD

For detection of inhomogeneous surfaces (bubbles, etc.), a combination of the two LLD types can be used, leading to unrivalled process sensitivity.

Choose Your Labware

The Microlab STAR meets the highest requirements regarding positional accuracy. lt processes all kinds of labware: tubes, microplates with 96, 384, and even 1536-well formats.

Choose the Microlab® STAR to process your labware.

Tips and Needles

Tired of manually changing tips and needles? The CO-RE technology (Compression-induced 0-Ring Expansion) couples tips or needles to the pipetting head of the Microlab® STAR. This allows you to easily pick up and replace dis­posable tips or reusable needles within the same run. Just by one software com­mand. lt's that easy. Our tips and needles are available in three sizes: 10 µl, 300 µl and 1000 µI. Of course, our tips – with or without filter – are RNAse­and DNAse-free.

The User Software — Your Easy Access to the Microlab® STAR

Ease of Use Meets Highest Flexibility

Whatever your application is, our new WIN® NT-based software will make it work easily. Graphical, syntax-free programming tools guide you through the setting up of your method. For advanced users, direct access to the HAMILTON Standard Language (HSL) is provided, to exploit the full flexibility and logic of a modern, high-level programming language.

1. Create Your Deck Layout

To program your particular method, the first step is to create an appropriate deck layout. Select your labware from a large pre-defined library and place it an the virtual instrument deck by an easy-to-use drag-&-drop procedure.

2. Create and Run Your Method

Once the deck layout is defined, the method can be programmed by dragging a pipetting command, e.g. an "aspirate" command, from a set of icons to a tree displaying your method', A dialog box opens up to prompt you for the appropriate parameters.

After the programming has been completed, the stand-alone Run Screen is used to run the Microlab® STAR, featuring the depk view and three function buttons: Start, Pause, Abort. !

The Autoload Option — Increase Your Deck Capacity

Continuous Loading

The Autoload Option for the Microlab® STAR automatically loads and unloads carriers for labware on and off the instrument deck.

The Microlab® STAR equipped with Autoload Option can be run in a continuous mode, where microplates once processed are automatically unloaded from the instrument deck and new tips or fresh reagents are loaded during runtime without stopping the run.

Barcode Identification

The barcode reader is capable of reading various types of barcodes on tubes, Eppendorf cups and microplates. Carriers for labware, too, can be labelled with barcodes to ensure complete tracking of information.

Easy Loading with Autoload

By highlighting the track position of the carrier to be loaded, the Microlab® STAR guides the user in loading the deck according to the layout defined.

Applications and Technical Data

Applications

The Microlab° STAR was designed with your needs in mind. Applications

which have been specifically evaluated include:

- PCR Preparation

- DNA Sequencing

- Pharmaceutical Screening

- Combinatorial Chemistry

- Reformatting of Labware

Dimensions

Deck Capacity

54 Tracks for

54 carriers holding 24/32 tubes, or

9 carriers holding 5 microplates or tip racks

Computer Requirements

Pentium Class CPU, Windows NT 4.0 operating system, 1 GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive, 31/2 inch floppy drive, 64 MB RAM.

The Standard Microlab STAR

STAR stands for Sequential Transfer and Aliquoting Robot. The Microlab STAR performs pipetting operations on liquids in containers placed on its work surface.

The basic model Microlab STAR contains a work surface, called a deck, for placing movable carriers. These carriers hold reagent containers, such as tubes, microtiter plates, or other kinds of labware.

  The Microlab STAR work surface is divided into 54 equal tracks (T) for loading carriers with predetermined positions. This obviates the need for precise measurement of positions. The deck has partitions for a maximum of 54 specialised 1-T carriers for sample tubes, or a maximum of 9 6-T carriers for microtiter plates and CO-RE tips. An additional partition space is provided for the tip waste container.

The instrument's internal coordinate system is shown in the figure, located at its origin.

The Microlab STAR is equipped with a pipetting arm typically containing 8 pipetting channels which work independently. The pipetting arm can move in an X direction, whereas each pipetting channel can move relatively independently both in a Y and a Z direction. The Microlab STAR supports pipetting with disposable tips or with needles.

The instrument is equipped with a front cover. This cover is equipped with a magnetic switch that aborts the run when the cover is opened.