BioTek July 2019 - 11

"A robotic arm transfers up to 8
plates to the Cytation 5 for imaging and then replaces the plates
back into the BioSpa," says Banks.
"This allows us to carry long-term
spheroid proliferation assays out
to weeks." In addition, the MultiFlo
FX AMX module can exchange
the media as often as needed
throughout the course of the experiment, with phenol red absorbance measurements pinpointing
the ideal exchange times.

Figure 6. Automated kinetic spheroid proliferation results using AMX media exchanges. Calculated
spheroid volumes following chronic exposure to varying camptothecin concentrations. (A) U-87
glioblastoma spheroids in Greiner 96-well spheroid plates; (B) HT-1080 spheroids in Corning 96-well
spheroid plates; (C) PANC-1 spheroids in 384-well spheroid plates.

Media Exchange) module for the
MultiFlo™ FX reagent dispenser
can prevent such problems. "The
automated media exchange
[provided by the AMX module] is
very gentle so that it doesn't disturb the spheroids," says Banks.
Using robotics systems for automated cell handling can also
help to maintain overall cell
health over the entire span of a

long-term experiment. "Some
customers can take these assays
out for months, which can be
pretty laborious if you are doing
these without the automation,"
notes Banks. BioTek's robotics
system enables walk-away automation, in which the BioSpa™
8 Automated Incubator can be
robotically connected to the
Cytation 5.

Taken together, new cell culture tools in robotics, media exchange, automated incubation,
and microscopy have made it
possible for scientists to automate laborious workflows while
at the same time reducing systematic errors associated with
continual manual interventions.

About the Author
Caitlin Smith has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Yale University, and
she completed postdoctoral work
at the Vollum Institute.

https://www.biotek.com/assets/tech_resources/AMX%20App%20Note_FINAL.pdf

BioTek July 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BioTek July 2019