Brooks Life Sciences Collaborates with AstraZeneca and Labcyte to Bring Efficiency to High-Throughput Compound Sample Management 

Chelmsford, Mass. – Brooks Life Sciences, a global leader in automated solutions for temperature-controlled storage and management of compounds and biological samples, today announced the launch of the Brooks Life Sciences FluidX™ AcoustiX™ Sample Tube, developed in partnership with global biopharmaceutical leader AstraZeneca and Labcyte, Inc. The collaboration provides a total workflow solution, bringing innovation and efficiency to biotechnology companies looking to optimize high-throughput sample management within their drug discovery process. The combined efforts of Brooks Life Sciences, Labcyte, and AstraZeneca have coalesced into an acoustic sample management solution that enables acoustic dispensing directly from a sample storage tube.

At the center of the acoustic sample management solution is the FluidX™ AcoustiX™ Sample Tube, a Labcyte® Echo® Qualified Consumable that is designed for long-term, temperature-controlled storage of samples, such as compounds for drug discovery and DNA. The tube represents a breakthrough in tube technology, engineered specifically for the Labcyte® Echo® 655T Liquid Handler, which uses a burst of sound energy to eject 2.5 nanolitre droplets from a tube or microplate to a destination microplate, with high precision and accuracy. Using patent pending technology, the FluidX AcoustiX Sample Tube features a unique 2D4 Quad Code that provides a redundant barcode and a suitable path to allow acoustic energy to pass through to the sample. The tube also benefits from proven FluidX tube technology, ensuring sample security with an internally threaded cap and co-molded gasket seal to prevent the samples from being compromised by hydration or evaporation during storage. The FluidX AcoustiX Sample Tube mitigates risks to sample integrity by allowing researchers to only thaw the samples they require, protecting innocent samples that under traditional processes would unnecessarily go through a freeze-thaw cycle in a microplate. The tube also helps save compound through nanolitre dispensing volumes, improving data quality through non-contact dispense and saving time lost during plate transport. The FluidX AcoustiX Sample Tube is another example of the continuous stream of smarter sample solutions from the FluidX team.

“We are proud to be launching the new FluidX AcoustiX Sample Tube, as we believe acoustic technology can provide the tangible benefits that will truly reshape the way we work with many types of samples, such as compounds dissolved in DMSO,” said David Lewandowski, Brooks Life Sciences. “With this new workflow solution, compound managers will increase efficiencies to support the drug discovery process.”

The full solution includes the Brooks FluidX™ IntelliXcap™ Decapper, a decapping/capping device; the new Perception HD AcoustiX which is able to read and decode the 2D4 Quad Code; the Brooks SampleStore™ II Automated Storage System with an ultrahigh-density (UHD) tray and fast tube picker, enabling superior processing of acoustic tubes; and the Labcyte Access™ Dual Robot System for automated processing of samples into assay-ready plates. The result is an optimized workflow solution that provides the best-in-class solution for flexibility, data quality, and sample conservation and preservation.

The solution will be on display at the 2018 SLAS International Conference & Exhibition at the Brooks Life Sciences booth #1621 and the Labcyte® booth #915-921, which takes place in San Diego, February 3-7th.

About Brooks Life Sciences 
Brooks Life Sciences, a division of Brooks Automation, is the leading worldwide provider of innovative and comprehensive sample lifecycle management solutions for the bioscience industry. These solutions include our automated storage systems, sample consumables and instruments, cell cryopreservation storage products, onsite and offsite temperature-controlled storage models, global sample preparation and analytical lab services and innovative informatics systems and technology services. Our team of sample management experts, delivers high quality, flexible sample management products, services and technology solutions that support hundreds of bioscience customers around the world, including the top 20 biopharmaceutical companies. Our industry-leading sample management solutions enable our customers to unlock sample intelligence and advance scientific research in order to deliver healthier and brighter tomorrows to individuals around the world.