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As Editor of the T3 Update newsletter it is my intent to provide you with the latest Tips, Tricks and Techniques that can be applied to the Biomek® family of Liquid Handlers. The goal in every communication is to enable you to develop robust automated assays that provide you reliable answers to the biological questions posed by your research. Looking back over these last 4 issues I am pleased with the kind of information we've been able to provide you in this new format: In the first issue we shared with you descriptions of four products that were launched at Lab Automation. The Biomek 3000 is designed to meet the needs of the low- to mid-range throughput liquid handling applications. The Biomek NX, with a smaller footprint than the sophisticated Biomek FX, is available in multiple configurations, including a choice of either eight-probe or multichannel pipetting. The Biomek 3.1 software, which unifies the expanded Biomek liquid handling product line under one software platform, enables researchers to move methods easily from one system to another. And finally, two new multimode detectors, the DTX 800 and DTX 880, that combine absorbance, fluorescence and luminescence detection in one instrument for maximum flexibility. Our applications teams in Fullerton, Indianapolis and San Diego also shared their nine posters and two platform talks given at Lab Automation. In the subsequent issues we expanded the content of the newsletter beyond new product releases and applications information, to include sections on Integrated Solutions, Project Management activity in NAO, Customer Training and Support, FAQs and our Event calendar. In our Applications section we provided you with application notes and/or poster presentations of automated solutions that have been developed on the Biomek platforms that enable you to maximize your use of your platform. These automated application solutions have been developed by our internal applications teams in Fullerton (5), Indianapolis (3) and Japan (1); by our customers (4) and by our partners at Promega Corp. (2) that highlight the use of cell-based assay kits on the Biomek platforms. In the Integrated Solutions section we shared information about the activity of our SAGIAN™ team of hardware and software engineers in Indianapolis who deliver custom solutions for customers that include integration of third-party components (5), Automated Labware Positioners (ALPs, 5) and software solutions (4) to enable customers to solve their unique challenges. Go back and take a look at this section: you might find a solution you're looking for! Please contact your local Beckman Coulter representative for the availability of these solutions in your area. In the Project Management – NAO section we share the latest integration projects developed for a customer by our team of integration experts in North America Operations (NAO). This team works with the Integrated Solutions team at SAGIAN to solve a particular automation challenges for a customer. While most of these projects involve large automation systems, the Biomek FX Assay Workstation (3) and the Biomek FX-based Core System (3), some of the solutions may be applicable to you. In the Customer Training and Support section we share the latest from our CTS team in NAO with a link to their online site. The CTS team provides training courses at three sites in North America and has recently developed a new online capability: eLab On-line, which facilitates live Biomek FX training over the web. We also shared a letter from a satisfied customer of the training received from our CTS team. In the FAQs section we provide answers to questions posed by automation customers. Finally, in the Events Calendar section we provide you with an update of scheduled events related to automation around the globe: trade shows, user group meetings, etc. Have I provided you with the Tips, Tricks and Techniques in the T3 Update newsletter that you need to obtain reliable answers from robust automated assays? Let me know – this is your forum!
About the editor: My academic training was focused on transcriptional regulation in prokaryotic systems. I defined the essential elements in overlapping promoter DNA sequences in E. coli (Ph.D. in Biology, U.C. Irvine, 1981-1987) and defined specific amino acid – nucleotide contacts made between a developmentally regulated sigma subunit of RNA polymerase and its cognate promoter DNA in B. subtilis (post-doc, Harvard Biolabs, 1987-1991). I left academia to join Beckman Instruments in December 1991, with a goal to develop an alternative DNA amplification technology that did not infringe on PCR. We successfully achieved that goal by developing a DNA ligase-dependent amplification of DNA that could amplify target molecules >106 fold through thermal cycling (PCT/US93/07342). I made a career move off the lab bench to provide technical evaluation of key technologies that enable drug discovery research and provide strategic planning for delivery of those technologies to Beckman Coulter customers. I now hold the title of Applications Marketing Manager. I am responsible for converting assay kits from a manual to an automated format on liquid handlers in the Biomek continuum. I work in Fullerton, Calif., as part of the Platforms and Automation Business Center. -- David W. Daniels, Ph.D. For comments or questions about T3 Update, please contact David Daniels, Ph.D., editor.
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