Air Displacement Pipetting Module Now Available for Robotic Liquid Processing Platforms

The introduction of an air displacement pipetting arm increases the flexibility and potential uses of a line of robotic liquid processing platforms.

Tecan (Männedorf, Switzerland) has introduced the Air LiHa (air displacement pipetting arm) for its Freedom EVO workstations. The EVO series offers worktables with building-block modularity that ensures precision, reliable liquid handling, and easy-to-use robotics. Each platform can be combined with a wide choice of robotic arms, liquid handling tools, and application options powered by straightforward software that can be programmed to meet the needs of each individual laboratory. The EVO platform allows a choice of pipetting technologies on the same platform, including the possibility of combining both air and liquid displacement on a single workstation.

The Air LiHa module is the latest in high-tech accessories available for the EVO series. This pipetting arm uses advanced air displacement technology to offer accurate and reliable pipetting for the Freedom EVO 100, 150, and 200 platforms. This provides greater convenience and lower maintenance requirements for applications by eliminating the need for system liquids. LiHA is available with four or eight pipetting channels and offers a broad volume range from 0.5 to 1,000 µL per channel, including free dispensing down to 0.5 µL.

The Air LiHa arm is designed to work exclusively with disposable tips and is intended for applications where the washing of fixed tips between pipetting steps is ineffective or impractical. It is compatible with Tecan's complete range of high quality LiHa disposable tips.

The Air LiHa arm features a built-in multisensory functionality, which supports cLLD – capacitive liquid level detection for use with conductive liquids; pLLD – pressure-based liquid level detection for use with nonconductive liquids; and PMP – pressure monitored pipetting for real-time quality control of all liquid transfer processes.

To maximize system security, a pressure sensor permanently tracks the pressure in the pipetting channels, even when not being used for active pipetting steps. By detecting the pressure changes, which occur if liquid comes into contact with the system’s Inline filters, the system is able to stop the aspiration immediately, preventing liquid entering the air chamber of the pipetting channel in the unlikely event that the wrong disposable tip size is used.

The Air LiHa module can be freely combined with other arms – including the Liquid LiHa (liquid displacement pipetting arm) and MultiChannel Arm (MCA) pipetting modules – to provide true parallel processing and increased workstation productivity.

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