A Fully Automated High-Throughput Method for the Purification of PCR* Products on the Biomek® FX Utilizing the QIAGEN QIAquick* Robo96 PCR Clean-up Kit

The second level of offsetting occurs at the Stackable Items option at the bottom of the main labware definition page. This option allows the user to select specifically what labware can be stacked. To navigate to the Stackable Items list, first go to the Tools menu and select Labware Type Editor. Chose the labware of interest and go down to the bottom of the active window. Click on the Stackable Items button. Another list of all the labware will pop up. Next to each piece of labware will be a box. Clicking on the box will put a check mark in it indicating that you would like that specific piece of labware to be stackable on the piece of labware selected from the main list in the Labware Type Editor. Note that the Stackable Items list is specific for each piece of labware. For example, in the QIAquick method there is a vacuum collar and a filter plate that need to be stacked so we can perform our PCR cleanup. To set the stackable offsets for the vacuum collar follow the steps below:

1. Go to Tools menu and select Labware Type Editor.
2. Scroll down the list until you find the VacCollar_36mm
3. Click on the Stackable Items button
4. Scroll down the list until you find QIAquick, this is the name of the QIAGEN filter plates.
5. Click on the box next to QIAquick if there is not already a check mark in it. In the fields Stack Offset X, Y, Z should be the values –0.05, -1.4, and 0.81 respectively.

You have now set that stackable offsets for the interaction of the QIAGEN filter plate and the vacuum collar. The offsets mean that the filter plate will be placed at –0.05cm in the X direction and –1.4cm in the Y direction and +0.81cm in the Z direction with respect to the vacuum collar reference point. Stackable offsets for dissimilar pieces of labware like the filter plate with the vacuum collar can be complex so it is recommended that you reference the user manual when defining stack offsets for multiple pieces of labware.

The third and final level of offsetting is performed at the ALP level. This is called the ALP Per-labware Offsets. To modify these offsets follow these steps:

1. Go to the Tools menu and click on Deck Editor
2. Click on Open Deck and choose a deck layout (for this example we will choose deck QQK777 since it is the deck used in the QIAquick method).
3. On the deck you will see many different positions. Double click on the position you would like to modify (for this example we will choose the SPE position).
4. Click on the More button on the right of the window to expand the window if not already expanded.
5. Click on the Per-labware Offsets button at the bottom right. Again you will see a list of labware and the X, Y, and Z offsets fields similar to the Stackable Items option listed above.
6. Scroll down until you find VacCollar_36mm and click on it. The X, Y, and Z values should be –0.05, -1.4, 0.81 respectively.

You have now set offsets for the vacuum collar on the SPE ALP. These numbers tell the Biomek FXä how to place the collar on the ALP. Again this is important because the collar does not have the same general shape as a titer plate and thus requires special handling by the instrument to properly position the labware.

All the offsets at all the levels interact with each other to give the user full control over gripping and placement of labware. The Gripper Offsets will be used by the Biomek FX when moving a single piece of labware around on the worksurface. The Stackable Items option is used when two or more pieces of labware need to be stacked and they are of different size and shape. The Per-labware Offsets will be used when there is a uniquely shaped labware that must interact with an ALP in a special way.