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In this issue I have chosen to focus on the foundation of the Biomek family of liquid handlers, the Biomek Software (SW). It is our Software that differentiates us from other providers of automated liquid handling and enables you, the user, to convert any manual assay method to an automated version. The ease of automated methods development is illustrated in the first applications piece by Matthew Cu, et al. Matthew and his team describe the automation of the MessageAmp*II-96 aRNA Amplification System from Ambion* on the Biomek 3000. This automated method was developed and optimized in less than one week! It is important to point out that as your throughput needs may change, methods developed on the Biomek 3000 can easily be ported to the Biomek NX or FX. That's because all of the Biomek Workstations use the same operating SW platform. In the Software Update section of this issue, Lisa Fan and Calvin Fujimoto provide you with a list of all the NEW features in the latest versions of Biomek SW. Now, if you can imagine an experimental process, the Biomek SW can enable you to set it up and run it. However, if the methods don't already exist because our team of SW engineers in Indianapolis or our Field Project Managers have not considered your process before, they can work with you to develop and optimize a robust solution for you. "User Friendly" is an overused label that Marketing uses to highlight the "Ease of Use" of their product lines. Nevertheless, both of these labels are appropriately applied to the Biomek SW, as anyone who has worked to develop an automated method on the Biomek platforms. In this issue, Tim Sherrill describes how methods development just got easier with the new SuperSteps. SuperSteps are automated steps that accomplish a single, targeted task using language that is familiar to the scientist performing that task. Also in this issue, if you've ever needed to use Labware that's not already defined in the Biomek SW, Jeanne Blum's article on how to create and define new Labware for your automated method will be a useful resource. Check it out. The foundation of all activity on the Biomek Liquid Handlers is the Biomek SW. Methods development, assay setup and assay performance is enabled by the Biomek SW. Regardless of whether you're developing a simple Biomek 3000 method or a complicated Core System method that automates an entire process, requiring multiple devices, dynamic scheduling and sample and data tracking, the Biomek SW will make it easy. We take great pride in making sure that the Biomek SW provides state of the art solutions to your automation needs! Please contact your local Beckman Coulter representative for the availability of these solutions in your area. 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. *All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Where applicable, the PCR process is covered by patents owned by Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., and F. Hoffman-LaRoche, Ltd. For comments or questions about T3 Update, please contact David Daniels, Ph.D., editor.
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