RoboColumns on a Hamilton?

[CamilloMoschner]

Hi everyone,

Following from…

What do you wish PLR did that it cannot currently do?

That’s what I thought unfortunately they went with I2C and some crazy way of interacting with the motors, the error logs are 1000’s of lines its insane to trouble shoot. Unfortunately we’re forced to use a Tecan fluent as it is the only robot capable of high throughput robo-columns; the water FCA tips which act as mini AKTA’s.

…I would like to discuss the feasibility of using OPUS RoboColumns on a Hamilton liquid handling workstation.

It seems like no matter where I look, I can only find RoboColumns being used on Tecan EVO or Fluent.
As discussed in the above-linked thread, the Fluent has made some hardware-electronics decisions that cloud a clear path for PLR integration and therefore eliminate its use in AI acceleration (as far as we currently know).
(Plus, what if you don’t have the financial resources to purchase another liquid handling workstation?)

The existence of RoboColumns being the reason to use a Tecan Fluent or EVO is something I have heard 2-3 times now, and I would like to understand more about whether the two systems are actually inseparable.

---

Please correct me, but it seems like the RoboColumns are not actually owned by Tecan?

Instead:

• Atoll GmbH invented and commercialised the
  • MediaScout® product line, which includes the
    • MediaScout® RoboColumns® (Miniaturized, pre-packed chromatography columns for robotic use; old, random poster still in existence from Atoll GmbH explaining the conceptt)
• Repligen Corporation (NASDAQ:RGEN) then acquired Atoll GmbH in 2016 (EC M&A announcement)
  • renamed the product to OPUS® RoboColumns® (Repligen website)

But it seems a bit more complicated:
Tecan has been partnering with Atoll and now Repligen Corp on making the RoboColumns easier to use by developing a hardware + software supplement solution:
The adapter for the RoboColumn array and “Plate shuttle system” (i.e. linear actuator that moves an elution plate underneath the columns), is called "Te-Chrom, owned and only sold only by Tecan?

If true, does this mean one can simply purchase RoboColumns directly from its manufacturer, Repligen Corporation, and figure out how to use it on anything?

After all, this Repligen Data Sheet does “mention” RoboColumns can also be used on Perkin Elmer (now renamed Revvity) liquid handlers. So why not on a Hamilton…

---

This leads to the questions:

1. Is the plate shuttle just to automatically move the elution plate underneath the columns?
2. Has anyone measured the O-ring size of the RoboColumns and the inlet port geometry, or even better, tested whether a Hamilton tip or needle fits into this??
   
   

[cwehrhan]

It’s not the the columns its the Liquid FCA on the Tecan.

Liquid FCA

• Liquid-Filled System:

Unlike air-displacement systems, the L-FCA uses a liquid-filled system as a wash fluid or diluent.

The liquid FCA acts as a continuous pressure column. It is acting as a chromatography column, using the system liquid as back pressure to push the samples through the column. Its a physical hardware limitation that Hamilton or any other manufactures have not met.

[CamilloMoschner]

Thank you for explaining @cwehrhan!