Microfluidics and Beyond – Devices for Applications in Biotechnology -

2004 ◽  
Vol 820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Daub ◽  
Rolf M. Kaack ◽  
Oliver Gutmann ◽  
Chris P. Steinert ◽  
Remigius Niekrawietz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Microarray Technology ◽  
Parallel Operation ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Liquid Handling ◽  
Microtiter Plates ◽  
Integration Density ◽  
Volume Range

AbstractFor the performance of certain analytical and diagnostic tasks in modern Life Science applications high throughput screening (HTS) methods are essential. Miniaturization, parallelization and automation allow to decrease consumption of expensive materials and lead to faster analyzing times. The miniaturization of total assay volumes by the use of microtiter plates as well as the microarray technology have revolutionized the field of biotechnology and Life Sciences. Neither printing of microarrays with droplet volumes of several picoliters, nor handling of precious enzymes in the upper nanoliter range can be accomplished with traditional liquid handling devices like air displacement pipettes. The development of novel low volume liquid handling devices, which are subject to current research, addresses the diverse requirements shifting steadily to lower volumes. Various novel non-contact dispensing methods in the nanoliter and picoliter range are presented and classified according to their working principles like air displacement and direct displacement methods (TopSpot®, NanoJetTM, Dispensing Well PlateTM). Properties of the various methods are compared in terms of flexibility, integration density, speed of operation, precision, addressable volume range and amenability to multi-parallel operation.

scholarly journals Flexible, Parameter-Controlled Nanoliter Pipetting on a Tecan xyz Platform

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joerg Schlegel
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
New Technology ◽  
High Density ◽  
New Device ◽  
Liquid Handling ◽  
Accuracy And Precision ◽  
Ink Jet ◽  
Volume Range

Cost pressure and rising throughput requirements are important drivers for assay miniaturization. Typical examples for the trend “smaller is better” are found in BioChip applications and in High Throughput Screening (HTS), which is evolving from the 96-well standard to high-density microplates with 384, 864, 1536 or more wells. These applications require the automated pipetting of liquids in the submicroliter volume range, a difficult task for traditional automated liquid handling systems based on syringe pumps. Tecan developed a new device for the accurate pipetting of volumes in the nanoliter range. Based on ink-jet printer technology, this device allows the exact control of the volume of the ejected droplets via a set of parameters. The integration of this new technology into Tecan's flexible xyz-platforms allows an easy use of this powerful technology for several applications. Results such as volume range, accuracy and precision are discussed.

scholarly journals Joint universal modular plasmids (JUMP): a flexible vector platform for synthetic biology

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Valenzuela-Ortega ◽  
Christopher French
Keyword(s):  
Copy Number ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Insertion Site ◽  
Golden Gate ◽  
Common Elements ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Specific Host ◽  
Modular Cloning ◽  
Golden Gate Cloning ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Generation of new DNA constructs is an essential process in modern life science and biotechnology. Modular cloning systems based on Golden Gate cloning, using Type IIS restriction endonucleases, allow assembly of complex multipart constructs from reusable basic DNA parts in a rapid, reliable and automation-friendly way. Many such toolkits are available, with varying degrees of compatibility, most of which are aimed at specific host organisms. Here, we present a vector design which allows simple vector modification by using modular cloning to assemble and add new functions in secondary sites flanking the main insertion site (used for conventional modular cloning). Assembly in all sites is compatible with the PhytoBricks standard, and vectors are compatible with the Standard European Vector Architecture (SEVA) as well as BioBricks. We demonstrate that this facilitates the construction of vectors with tailored functions and simplifies the workflow for generating libraries of constructs with common elements. We have made available a collection of vectors with 10 different microbial replication origins, varying in copy number and host range, and allowing chromosomal integration, as well as a selection of commonly used basic parts. This design expands the range of hosts which can be easily modified by modular cloning and acts as a toolkit which can be used to facilitate the generation of new toolkits with specific functions required for targeting further hosts.

Invisible Architectures

2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Jörg Rheinberger
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Basic Problem ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Strategy I ◽  
The Invisible

The ArgumentIn this essay I will sketch a few instances of how, and a few forms in which, the “invisible” became an epistemic category in the development of the life sciences from the seventeenth century through the end of the nineteenth century. In contrast to most of the other papers in this issue, I do not so much focus on the visualization of various little entities, and the tools and contexts in which a visual representation of these things was realized. I will be more concerned with the basic problem of introducing entities or structures that cannot be seen, as elements of an explanatory strategy. I will try to review the ways in which the invisibility of such entities moved from the unproblematic status of just being too small to be accessible to the naked or even the armed eye, to the problematic status of being invisible in principle and yet being indispensable within a given explanatory framework. The epistemological concern of the paper is thus to sketch the historical process of how the “unseen” became a problem in the modern life sciences. The coming into being of the invisible as a space full of paradoxes is itself the product of a historical development that still awaits proper reconstruction.

scholarly journals Dissecting with numbers: mathematics in Nicolaus Steno’s early anatomical writings, 1661-64

Substantia ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Nuno Castel-Branco
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Early Modern Period ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Scientific Career ◽  
Mathematical Methods ◽  
Modern Life ◽  
Modern Period ◽  
Gradual Process

At the height of his scientific career, the anatomist Nicolaus Steno published the Elementorum myologiæ specimen (Florence, 1667), a book unlike any other anatomy book until then. Rather than an anatomy book, it seemed more like a book of mathematics, with propositions, lemmas and corollaries. Steno is thought to have developed his mathematical interests in Florence with the school of Galileo. However, this article challenges this interpretation and argues that Steno’s turn towards mathematics was a gradual process that began earlier in Copenhagen and Leiden. By surveying Steno’s early anatomical writings, mathematical methods such as quantification measurements, mechanical analogies, and geometrical models come to light. More importantly, these methods are read in their own context, by considering what mathematics really meant in the early modern period and how anatomists have used it in history. As such, this article provides a more complete picture of Steno’s interest in mathematics and it sheds new light on the rise of mathematics in the early modern life sciences.

scholarly journals Educational Challenges of Molecular Life Science: Characteristics and Implications for Education and Research

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena A.E. Tibell ◽  
Carl-Johan Rundgren
Keyword(s):  
Applied Sciences ◽  
Pure Sciences ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Technical Innovation ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
Educational Challenges ◽  
Starting Point

Molecular life science is one of the fastest-growing fields of scientific and technical innovation, and biotechnology has profound effects on many aspects of daily life—often with deep, ethical dimensions. At the same time, the content is inherently complex, highly abstract, and deeply rooted in diverse disciplines ranging from “pure sciences,” such as math, chemistry, and physics, through “applied sciences,” such as medicine and agriculture, to subjects that are traditionally within the remit of humanities, notably philosophy and ethics. Together, these features pose diverse, important, and exciting challenges for tomorrow's teachers and educational establishments. With backgrounds in molecular life science research and secondary life science teaching, we (Tibell and Rundgren, respectively) bring different experiences, perspectives, concerns, and awareness of these issues. Taking the nature of the discipline as a starting point, we highlight important facets of molecular life science that are both characteristic of the domain and challenging for learning and education. Of these challenges, we focus most detail on content, reasoning difficulties, and communication issues. We also discuss implications for education research and teaching in the molecular life sciences.

The dispensing well plate: a novel device for nanoliter liquid handling in ultra high-throughput screening

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 291-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard Steger ◽  
Benjamin Bohl ◽  
Roland Zengerle ◽  
Peter Koltay
Keyword(s):  
High Throughput ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Novel Device ◽  
Liquid Handling

The Pursuit of Meaning: Placing Biodiversity and Biography at the Center of Biology

2021 ◽  
pp. 002205742110268
Author(s):  
Joel I. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Charles Darwin ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
Scientific Understanding ◽  
Conservation Funding ◽  
Female Scientists

Naturalists enrich our scientific understanding of biodiversity. However, just as countries have fallen behind on commitments to provide biodiversity conservation funding, so has the focus of life science stayed arm’s length. The purpose of this article is to consider why biodiversity should be the center of life sciences education and how biographies of Charles Darwin and the incorporation of female scientists allow important findings, paintings, and journaling as part of standard teachings. The addition of female naturalists will provide role models for diverse, underrepresented student populations. This article suggests that biodiversity and biography become central to hteaching life sciences while supplemented by other practices. Such reallocations provide students an opportunity to learn not only what these scientists discovered but how these individuals “developed” into scientists.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document