Save Money

If you have an obsolete 96 or 384  PlateMate pipeting station or one with damaged pistons, you can bring it back on line as a 96, 384 or 1536 pin tool work station.  Not only will you save a ton of money rehabilitating an obsolete or broken work station,  you will also pay for the pin tool in your second screening operation by eliminating the cost of disposable pipet tips.  At $.12/tip, 200 cases of 384 tips are ~$9,000.00.

pin Resetting Feature

In addition our CyBio adaptor also uses the pistons on the Matrix Pipetter to reset the pins in the rare event that they get stuck in the up position.  Simply programming the aspirate and dispense functions to preset values determines correct travel of the pistons.  The pistons of the Matrix Pipetting System pass right through the holes in the adaptor and press on the push pad.  The Piston Push Pad is connected to the Pin Push Pad and motion is transferred to the pins (see photo to the right).

We also use a similar fixture with different actuating mechanism on the PerkinElmer Pin tools and the Beckman FX to reset the pins.

Robot Selection and pin length

Whether you have a 96 or a 384  PlateMate  Pipetting System we can attach any of our 96, 384 or even 1536 pin tool formats to either a 96 or a 384 CyBio Adaptor.  Because of the height limitation of some of the Pipetting Systems we use a shorter pin and a shorter tube to reduce the overall pin length to 33 mm.  The pin protrudes 12 mm below the lower float plate.  The pins used in the CyBio  Double Float Plate Replicators are all fixtured in a 1.58 mm diameter tube to give strength and stability to the small diameter pins.   The total height of CyBio Replicators from the top of the adaptor plate to the tip of the FPC series pins is  59 mm.  We recommend the FPC series pins for the standard Cybi Wells.  For deep well Cybi Wells you can use the taller FP series pins.  The total height of the CyBio Replicators with FP series pins is 77 mm.  When you place your order we will need to know which adaptor to use (96 or 384) and the pin length.

Technical notes section for details on how to program the Cybi Well for pin tool applications.

Cleaning the Pins

Procedures for transferring liquids, robot speed, wash solutions, blotting protocols and pin cleaning can found at this hyperlink.  Cleaning the pins between mother plates is easy and effective.  In an experiment to determine the amount of carry over after 100 transfers of concentrated FITC (mother to daughter plate)  we were only able to detect  0.000,001,8% of the residual FITC on the pin using only two static 100 ml wash baths.  This is equivalent to reading of 18 out of a possible 1,000,000,000 units This experiment was repeated using DMSO as the first wash solution and virtually identical results were obtained, indicating the thoroughness of the wash.

The Matrix Technologies Corp. PlateMate was originally made by CyBio so the pipet tip carriers that we use as adaptor plates will also function on the Matrix PlateMates.  So now you can use the same pin tool on both robots.  All the "Z" clearance  specifications for the CyBio pin tool applies to the Matrix PlateMate.  For the new Matrix Platemate Plus use the BMPPLATEMATEPLUS mounting system.

For comprehensive data on nanoliter dispensing with pin tools see the following pages.
 

• DMSO and Aqueous delivery with hydrophobic coated and uncoated solid and slot pins
• DMSO and Aqueous delivery with solid and slot pins
• Maxim Pharmaceuticals, results with slot pin tools

• New England LRIG presentation 6/18/02

• Pin tool data page

Storage Stations for Pin Tools offer a safe place to store pin tools and keep them clean.

V&P pins transfer liquid by carrying the liquid on the sides, tips and in slots we cut into the tips. The amount delivered is determined by the diameter and surface tension of the pin, the surface tension of the liquid, how far the pin is submerged into the liquid and the speed with which the pin is removed from the liquid.  When all of these variables are fixed, the accuracy of the liquid transfer is very consistent, with CV averages better than 5%.

Increasing the speed of withdrawal from the source plate by 7- fold will increase the volume delivered by as much as 3 fold in a linear relationship.  This phenomenon can be exploited to expand the range of delivery volume for a single pin. The table and the chart below illustrates the effects of increasing the speed 7- fold.  The speed range is from 0.78 cm/sec to 5.7 cm/sec.  Use this chart to select the pin that will deliver in your desired range.

Delivery volume range is determined by speed of withdrawal from source liquid.
slow speed  = 0.78 cm/sec = low volume delivery range
fast speed  =  5.70 cm/sec = high volume delivery range
Follow this link to assay methods

DMSO TRANSFERS WITH HYDROPHOBIC COATED PINS

DMSO TRANSFERS WITH UNCOATED (STAINLESS STEEL) PINS

AQUEOUS TRANSFERS WITH HYDROPHOBIC COATED PINS

AQUEOUS TRANSFERS WITH UNCOATED (STAINLESS STEEL) PINS

1.  What volume do you need to  transfer?   DMSO? Aqueous? See these hyperlinked tables to determine your options.  Also consider custom slot pins.

2. Will the source plate have wells with significantly different levels of liquid?  (Cherry picked source plate or edge drying effect?).  If yes and if the absolute volume transferred is critical, then select the largest slot pin that is in your transfer range.  This will minimize the effect of liquid height on the volume of liquid carried on the sides of the pin.  Also consider custom slot pins.

3. Does the material transferred bind non-specifically to stainless steel?  If yes then select the Hydrophobic/lipophobic coated pins.  If no, select the uncoated pins.

4. What is the Z clearance on the robot deck from the highest impediment (top of the source plate/recipient plate/wash reservoirs, etc.) to the top of the robot mounting plate?  If it is greater than 77 mm you can use any of pins.  If it is less than 77 mm, you can only use the shorter FP(#)C series pins (12 mm exposed pin length), the FP(#N) series pins (17 mm exposed pin length) and the E-clip series pins (23 mm exposed pin length pins.  If the Z clearance is less than 60 mm, we recommend you contact us.  There are a few tricks we can do to shave off 5 to 10 mm in height. 

Links to the specifications of all the robot mounting plates/pin tool/pin combinations can be found on the height ("Z") restriction page. 

5.  Is the source plate a deep well plate?  If so you may need to use a 30 mm long exposed length pin ("T" pin) to reach down to the lower levels of the well. 

6.  Should you choose the solid pin versus the slot pin? Although there appears to be a slight advantage for slot pin, CV's between the two pins are very good.  Both are easy to clean between specimens.  Biggest factor is cost.  If you don't need to deal with varying liquid heights and you can obtain the volume necessary with a solid pin, choose the economical solid pin.

7.    If you are still uncertain about which pin to select for your application, you can perform a simple "Proof of Principle" test with several different pins using our inexpensive VP 450FP3 Replicator Strip coupled via a VP 452MP to one of our robot mounting plates.   An even simpler solution is to use a work station with a 1, 4 or 8 probe dispense head with the new V&P Mono Pin Tool to test the various pins.

Many of our customers want to make liquid to dry plate transfers to make mini-microarrays in a single well for multiplexing assays.  By their very nature these transfers only leave a small volume remaining on the plate.  The amount remaining depends on the surface tension of the plate, the transfer liquid and the pin (diameter and shape).  We have found that reasonable results can be obtained if you use an aqueous spotting buffer and a polypropylene surface (CV's less than 9%).  DMSO spotting buffers leave much less liquid on the dry plate and when used with polystyrene plates the CV's are significantly higher. 

The plate to the right was spotted using a 50 nl slot pin (FP1CS50) transferring oligo DNA in an aqueous spotting buffer to a specially treated polypropylene plate.  Our customer in this case wanted to place 42 individual spots in the bottom of each well of a 96 well microplate.  Spot diameter = 0.55 mm. Volume transferred to the spot = 5.85 nl

The photo on the right is the result of a four fold serial dilution hybridization assay of the Oligo spots with a labeled DNA that can be detected optically and quantitated.

Follow this link for more information on liquid to dry transfers and Multiplexing.

2. Select the Floating Fixture with the appropriate pattern (96, 384 or 1,536) and diameter of holes.

3. Select the robot system you wish to use the Pin Tool with.  We have made Mounting Plates to over 34 Robot Workstations.  The BMP Mounting Plate on this page accommodate the manual pin tool and the Beckman BioMek 2000 robot.

Determine the weight of a Robot pin tool at this link

Tube Style Pins

E-Clip Style Pins

96 Pin Double Float Plate CyBio Replicators

384 Pin Double Float Plate CyBio Replicators

1536 Pin Double Float Plate CyBio Replicators

Replacement Pins for the above 96 and 384 Pin Double Float Plate CyBio Replicators.

The Double Float Plate CyBio style Replicators have several advantages over the E-Clip Style Floating Replicators:

1. The double float plate pins are smaller in diameter and deliver very small volumes (down to 2 nl).
    
2. Smaller pin diameters also result in more precise delivery volumes (CV's ~4%).
    
3. Because the pin is registered between 2 float plates over a greater height, the pin angle will be truer (closer to 90^°) when they touch the surface. 
    

4. The smaller hole on the lower float plate allows us to make very tight tolerances on the fit between the pin and the hole.  This results in very precise placement of the pins on the surface so that very high density arrays can be made without overlapping the spots.

The E-Clip Pin Tools on the other hand are capable of delivering larger volumes (from 0.5 to 5 ul).

***NEW***
HYDROPHOBIC COATED PIN REPLICATORS 

Hydrophobic/ lipophobic coated pins are very useful in handling solutions with proteins or lipids that may stick to naked stainless steel.  Click here for more details on the nature of our hydrophobic/ lipophobic coating and the coating process.

Replacement Pins for the above 96, 384 and 1536 Hydrophobic Pin CyBio Replicators.

• DMSO and Aqueous delivery with solid and slot pins
• Maxim Pharmaceuticals, results with slot pin tools
• Pin tool data page

1. Slot pins carry a larger volume than solid pins in liquid to liquid transfers.

2. Slot pins are not as sensitive to the depth of the mother liquid as solid pens.

3. Slot pins deliver a larger volume than solid pins in liquid to dry plate transfers.

4. Slot pins deliver s larger volume than solid pins in liquid to membrane transfers.

5. Slot volume is customizable.

6. Slot pins can deliver to dry plates by pre-wetting the plate. See customer data

Hydrophobic/lipophobic coated pins are very useful in handling solutions with proteins or lipids that may stick to naked stainless steel.  Click here for more details on the nature of our hydrophobic/lipophobic coating and the coating process.

Custom Floating Slot Pin Replicators can also be made using the 0.457 mm and 0.787 mm diameter pins and placing them into the Floating Pin Replicators described above.  The slot volumes between these two pins can cover a range of volumes from 5 nl to 1000 nl by changing the width and depth of the slot.  Inquire by phone or e-mail for more information.

Replacement Pins for all the replicators on this page can be found on this hyperlink.

The most important aspect of using pin tools is to start with clean pins and then keep them clean so they will consistently deliver the same volume.  We recommend our Pin Cleaning Solution (VP 110) to clean the pin of protein and other residue buildup before you start an assay.  To quickly and efficiently remove the previous transfer from the pin we have several different wash reservoirs, flowing reservoirs and fountains to clean  96, 384 and 1536 floating pin tools.  These wash stations also are adapted so the blotting station is part of the washing station thus reducing the cleaning cycle time and the number of robot stations required for the cleaning process.  We also have other independent blotting stations (VP 540D)

Integral to the cleaning process of all pins is the blotting step between baths.  Lint particles in the slots or on pin tips, from standard paper towels, will interfere with the loading and unloading of liquid.  We have solved this problem.  The VP 540DB blotting system is a tray with the standard microplate foot print that contains a super absorbent polypropylene pad covered by a Lint Free Blotting Paper.  We strongly recommend that you use this or our other lint free blotting systems.

We highly recommend that you order the CyBio/Matrix Pin Tool Accessory kit at the time you order the pin tool.  This "essentials" accessory kit contains two Low Profile Pin Washing Reservoirs with anti-splash Baffles to dampen the wave action induced by moving the plates on the robot. The VP 540DB Lint Free Blotting System is used to clean the pins efficiently between samples, the VP 110 Pin Cleaning Solution is used the clean the pins daily, the VP 425 Pin Cleaning Brush is used if a build up occurs and the VP 555 Safe Pin Tool Storage System used to keep it clean and the fragile pins out of harms way.   Although we have several other wash and blot accessories available these are the most cost effective for the majority of applications.  If you elect to use the fountain and flowing reservoirs we still strongly recommend the other items in this kit.  When purchased as the VP OK19 Kit you will receive a 5% discount over the sum of the individual items.