Automation and Robotics for Biotechnology

VTT's Industrial Biotechnology Automation Platform allows rapid bioprocess development, process characterization and high-throughput screening of microbial strains, in scales ranging from 0.1 ml to 200ml. We create new protocols for efficient strain assembly, screening and characterization, as well as scalable cultivation methods that speed up research activities in various projects, which help our customers and collaborators to reach their targets.

ambr250, Sartorius
· 24 parallel bioreactors à 250 ml
· Individually controlled vessels
· Online-measurements and controls for pH, DO, biomass aeration, foaming, stirring, temperature,off-gases, sampling and feeding
· Frequent automated sampling for offline analyses
· High throughput bioreactor cultivations with optimum scalability

Screening Robot, Beckman Coulter
· Custom set-up with multiple devices
· Throughput capability of tens of microtiter plates at a time
· Biomek pipetting station that is able to process multiwell plates efficiently
· Washer-dispenser,tower incubator, thermal cycler, thermoshaker and multimode plate reader enable versatile options for automated cultivation and HT-scale assays

FLUENT 780, Tecan
· Liquid handling station capable of versatile pipetting tasks
· Span-8head: flexible pipetting from tubes and reservoirs
· Suitable especially for molecular biology work (e.g. plasmid purification, protein assays)
· SPARK multimode plate reader, Agilent centrifuge, thermoshaker and Tecan vacuum station integrated

Biolector Pro and Biolector II, m2p-labs
· 48-well format plate
· Non-invasive optical online measurement of pH, DO, biomass and multiple fluorescence wavelengths
· Microfluidics for fed-batch mode and pH adjustment (PRO)· Anaerobic cultivations (II)
· “Bioreactoron a plate”