Table 1 Summary of features on some important liquid-handling workstations or pipetting assisting devices available on the market. Pipetting precision is measured in coefficients of variation (CV) and accuracy is measured as a percentage (R) [18, 29, 38, 40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47]. *Quotations were obtained in July–August 2020 from suppliers in South Africa and prices converted to USD at the prevalent exchange rates
From: Unlocking the efficiency of genomics laboratories with robotic liquid-handling
Company | Workstation | Size (cm) | Pipetting set-up | Dispenced volumes(μl) | Pipetting precision (CV) | Pipetting Accuracy (R) | Control Centers | Programming | Dispensing speed (Pipetting Assisting Devices) | Time required to complete 96 libraries (Workstations) | Consumables | Monitoring of dispensed volumes | Number of deck positions | Decontamination options | Blockage detection and log file generation | Price (USD)* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamilton Robotics | Mircrolab STAR | 166.4 × 79.5 × 90.3 | 8 independent channels of dynamic volume range | 1–1000 | 6–1.5% | 10–2% | INSTINCT+VENUS | User-programmable: graphical interface to create methods | ND | 8 h hands-off | Hamilton consumables | liquid level detective using conductive or pressure-based methods | 45 | HEPA filter hoods with UV light + washing stations | pressure or capacitance-based clot detection | 123,605 |
Microlab NIMBUS96 | 104.6 × 70.9 × 83.1 | 96–Channel Multi-Probe Head of dynamic volume range | 1–1000 | 5–1% | 5–1% | NIMBUS software | User-programmable: graphical interface to create methods | ND | ND | Hamilton consumables | liquid level detective using conductive or pressure-based methods | up to 20 | HEPA filter hoods with UV light + washing stations | can detect clots and offers real-time tracking of the aspiration performance | ND | |
Beckman Coulter | Biomek i5 | 112 × 81 × 112 | 0.5 μL-1000 μL (Multichannel) or 0.5 μL-5000 μL (Span-8) pipetting volume ranges - Single Multichannel head (96/384) or Span-8 pipetting with gripper | 5–1000 | < 5.6% | < 2.83% | DART 2.0 | Both manufacturer and user programmable | ND | ND | specific Biomek pipette tips | Conductive tips enable liquid-level sensing. | 25 | Not autoclavable | Cameras enable live broadcast and on-error video capture | 128,530 |
Beckman Coulter | Biomek 4000 | 122.5 × 50.5 × 67.5 | single/multi channel options | 1–1000 | < 5.6% | < 2.83% | DART 2.0 | Both manufacturer and user programmable | ND | ND | specific Biomek pipette tips | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
Tecan | Fluent GX (480/780/1080) | 123.6 × 115 × 785 / 123.6 × 165 × 785 / 123.6 × 215 × 785 (depending on model) | 8 independent channels of various volume ranges | 0.5–1000 | 8–0.3% | 10–0.5% | ND | ND | ND | ND | Tecan-specific | Liquid level detection | 30/48/72 (depending on model) | An integrated laminar flow HEPA hood with UVC light maintains a clean environment throughout the workdeck | User interaction logs | ND |
Eppendorf | epMotion 5075vt | 107 × 61 × 67 | 4 exchangable dispensing tool (single/multi channel) | 0.2–1000 | 3–0.15% | 0.35% | epBlue | ND | ND | 6.2 h | Ependorf consumables, which are pretty generic | optical sensor | 15 | CleanCap option for UV decontamination and HEPA air filter | debug and log files | 170,078 |
Perkin Elmer | Sciclone NGSx/IQ workstation | 170.8 × 90.7 | 96-channel | 1–200 | < 5% (1-5ul), < 2%(5-200ul) | ND | Sciclone Maestro software | Both manufacturer and user programmable | ND | 8 h | Sciclone-specific | ND | 24 | ND | Error handling and recovery in an intuitive format | 225,082 |
Agilent Technologies | Bravo NGS | 112.1 × 55 × 188 | 96/384 Channel Disposable Tip Head | 0.3–250 | 5% | ± 10% | Agilent Vworks |  | ND | 8 h (only 25 mins hand-on) | Agilent-specific | ND | 9 | ND | ND | 165,000 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific | Multidrop Combi Reagent Dispenser | 25.5 × 33 × 22 | syringe+ 8 channel cassette 0.5-50 μL/8 channel cassette 5-2500 μL | 0.5–2500 | 10–1% | 2 μl: ± 10%, 10 μl: ± 5%, >  10 μl: ± 5%, 20 μl: ± 2%, > 100 μl: ± 1% | Serial RS-232C (USB) | ND | 96-well plate: 10 μL in 3 s.; 20 μL in 4 s.; 100 μL in 10 s |. 384-well plate: 1 μL in 5 s.; 5 μL in 5 s.; 10 μL in 6 s.; 20 μL in 9 s | 1536-well plate: 1 μL in 14 s.; 5 μL in 26 s. | ND | plastic tube tips | ND | ND | cassettes are autoclavable | ND | 18,437 |
Gilson | Pipetmax | 54.4 × 65.5 × 53.1 | 8 channel 1 μL - 20 μL, 8 channel 20 μL - 200 μL, Single channel 1000 μL | 1–1000 | 8–1% | 5–0.25% | TRILUTION | User-programmable | ND | 4hrs18mins | generic | ND | ND |  | ND | 47,761 |
Hudson Robotics | SOLO | 74.9 × 49.5 × 61 | Single channel: 1uL to 10 mL; optional pump assembly for bulk dispensing - 8 & 12 channel: 50 uL, 100 uL, 200 uL, 300 uL and 1000 uL pipette heads | 0.2–10,000 | 2uL: < 2%, Larger volumes: < 0.5%. | ND | Solosoft Control | User-programmable | 30mins/copy 96-well plate, with tip changes every time | ND | generic | Liquid level detection optional | 4 to 12 | Microplate washer optional | ND |  |
Opentrons | OT-2 | 63 × 57 × 66 | 2 interchangable channels | 0.5–1000 | ND | ND | Opentrons Python API | User-programmable | Fills a 96-well plate in 20 s | ND | Opentrons-specific or generic | Not available | 9 | ND | ND | 5000 |
miLAB (The Media Innovation Lab, University of Hezliya, Israel) | OpenLH | ND | 1 channel of choice | 0.5–50 | ND | ND | Blockly Python API | User-programmable | ND | ND | generic | Not available | ND | ND | ND | 1000 |
Integra ViaFlow Assist | Integra Biosciences | 34 × 36 × 40 | single (0.5-5000ul) or multi-channel (0.5-1250ul) | ND | ≤ 1.0% | ± 1.5% | VIALINK | Both manufacturer and user programmable | ND | ND | generic | artificially tracks liquid level by using tip travel distances | 4 | Manually. Components can be autoclaved | ND | 6750 |
Beckman Coulter | Echo 650 Series | 53.9 × 68.3 × 92.5 | Echo acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) technology | 0.0025–5 | < 8% | < 10% | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | liquid level detection by using low energy sound waves | ND | ND | ND | ND |