Pipetting Solutions for Streamlined RNA Sequencing

Integra Biosciences’ electronic handheld pipetting solutions are helping to improve the throughput capacity of bulk RNA barcoding and sequencing (BRB-seq) at Alithea Genomics in Switzerland. The company’s fast, high throughput and robust in-house BRB-seq service provides crucial gene expression data at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional RNA-seq, and the company’s workflow relies on Integra VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 electronic handheld pipettes to provide the speed and precision needed for seamless plate-to-plate transfers.

Traditional RNA-seq protocols process samples individually, which can become extremely time consuming and tiresome. That’s why Alithea Genomics offers a BRB-seq service that pools and processes samples together in a single tube, saving on both reagents and time, making this approach ideal for large-scale projects. To offer customers enhanced speed, precision, and throughput, the company began using VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 pipetting systems for plate-to-plate transfers for its in-house service, as well as to assemble and aliquot sequencing kit plates to ship to customers. Riccardo Dainese, CEO of Alithea, explained: “For us, the VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 provide the best balance between automation, pricing, and throughput. They allow us to seamlessly transfer and quickly process thousands of samples, while still retaining the flexibility to change between 96 to 384 channel pipetting heads as often as required.”

“Being able to guarantee the precision of plate-to-plate transfers has been so important - especially when preparing ready-to-use plates for our customers -because it translates directly into data accuracy and uniformity. The VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 can aspirate a defined volume, then simultaneously dispense multiple smaller aliquots into 96 or 384 well plates, providing us with a much more convenient workflow than manual pipetting, while helping to guarantee precision. The systems give us everything we need to achieve our target throughput, without the hefty price tag of a large, automated liquid handling robot,” Riccardo concluded.