Integrated Pipetting Solutions for Streamlined SNP Genotyping

Global seed producer Sakata Vegetables Europe SAS are integrating Integra Biosciences’ pipetting solutions with Fluidigm microfluidics technologies to help improve laboratory workflows. Following a recent expansion, the company has purchased several VIAFLO 96 handheld electronic pipettes, ASSIST PLUS pipetting robots and VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipettes to automate loading of microfluidic chips for qPCR analysis on its Fluidigm Biomark PCR Analyser. This has helped to increase the efficiency of laboratory tasks, enhancing throughput capacity in line with Sakata’s ambitious business growth goals.

Sakata Europe’s quality control team was tasked with developing new laboratory facilities and workflows to address its ongoing business needs and help meet annual sales growth targets. To achieve this, the team purchased a VIAFLO 96 system for DNA extraction workflows, plus an ASSIST PLUS robot equipped with an 8 channel VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipette for automatic transfer of DNA samples from 96-well plates to almost any microfluidic chip format needed for analysis. Jean-Philippe Pichaut, Head of Quality Control at Sakata Vegetables Europe, explained: “We needed to ensure that we could manage an ever-increasing workload easily and efficiently and, using our new Integra solutions, we have been able to automate the entire pipetting process. Both the Integra team and Fluidigm application specialists worked in partnership with us to ensure a seamless workflow, and the end result is ideal. It’s so easy to use, and adds a huge degree of scalability to our workflows. All day-to-day operations are now running much more efficiently, and are a lot less labour intensive, making it far easier to manage our workload in the long term.”

“Setting up a completely new laboratory and all its workflows can be fraught with difficulties. However, we know that Integra and Fluidigm are both always on hand for help and support when we need it. We really enjoy working with the teams, because getting in contact with the right people is never a problem,” Jean-Philippe concluded.

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