BioMicroCenter:Tecan Freedom Evo

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** All users must be trained before being allowed to use the Tecans **
The BioMicro Center currently hosts two Tecan Freedom EVO 150s named Johnny5 and B9. Johnny5 is optimized for cherry picking applications while B9 is optimized for screening. The Tecan's in the BioMicro Center are available to MIT researchers for use in their research. The Tecans may be used for BL1 work but are not set up for doing work on tissue culture or other samples requiring sterile environments. For users requiring higher throughput or BL2/BL2+ a new High-Throughput core has been developed by the Koch Institute.

JOHNNY 5

"Johnny5" is the BioMicro Center robot optimized for cherry picking. It is a highly-versatile device equipped with a four-channel liquid handling arm (LiHa) and a 96-channel pipette arm (MCA96). The instrument supports a wide variety of fluid transfer operations for all sizes of microplates as well as 150mm dishes and can perform operations including reagent addition, continuous reagent dispensing, sample transfer, plate replication, plate-to-plate transfer, serial dilutions, and within-well mixing. The EVO can accurately handle volumes between 1 and 500 µl and has the ability to perform virtually any routine liquid transfer, replacing manual pipetting.

ARMS

Johnny 5 has the following arms:

• LiHa (Liquid handler): 4 fixed conductivity sensing tips. 1-500 µl
• MCA (Multichannel Arm): 96 Tip head uses disposable tips (50 or 200 µl)

CARRIERS

Johnny 5's deck is configured with the following carriers.

• 1 fixed tip washer.
• 3 15ml tube carriers.
• 3 temperature controlled SBS carriers
• 24 non-temperature controlled SBS carriers
• 4 racks for 1.5ml tubes (24 each)

SCHEDULE TIME ON JOHNNY 5 Note, time must be booked in 2 hour increments.

B9

"B9" is the BioMicro Center EVO150 optimized for high throughput screening. B9 has a 96 tip head for rapid pipetting and a robotic arm for moving plates around the deck. The robot has 4 plate stackers which can be used to add or remove plates during a run. B9 was donated to the BioMicro Center by Dr. Wendy Gilbert through a small instrumentation grant from the NIH.

ARMS

B9 has the following arms:

• MCA (Multichannel Arm): 96 Tip head uses disposable tips (50 or 200 µl)
• RoMa (Remote Manipulator): Robotic are to move plates around.

CARRIERS

B9 has the following Carriers:

• 1 rack for 2 stacks of nested tips with chute
• 3 temperature controlled SBS format positions on one carrier.
• 16 SBS format positions on 4 carrier
• Vortexer (Te-Shake)
• 4 on deck racks for short plates
• Shaking Incubator
• 4 Stackers (TeStack)

Schedule time on B9 Note, time must be booked in 2 hour increments.

EVOWARE

The Tecan EVO currently runs using the EVOware software package. EVOware can be run in either of two modes: directly connected to the Tecan EVO to allow control of the robot, or on your desktop computer in a simulation mode. Simulation mode is extremely useful in that it allows the user to pre-design the steps in their program.

LABWARE

Labware refers to the plastic consumables used by the robot. These include the tips, tubes, plates, etc. Each piece of labware must be individually prepared for the EVO and each program must refer to specific pieces of labware. Failure to properly set up labware can cause expensive damage to the machine and significant down time. The BioMicro Center stocks several types of labware which are available to users:

TIPS	PLATES
50ul standard 50ul filter,low bind, sterile 50ul nested stack 200ul standard 200ul filter, low bind, sterile	96well Axygen full skirted PCR plate (PCR-96-FS-C) 96well Axygen RT-PCR plates 384well Roche RT-PCR plates Large reservoirs

SERVICES

Use of the BioMicro Center Tecans can either be supervised or full-service.

Supervised

In supervised use, the BioMicro Center will provide training for a new user. The user is then approved to work on the Tecans on their own. Newer users should work when BioMicro Center staff are available to answer questions. Usage of the robots for practice is *not* charged but has lowest priority. Practice time must be booked on the calender and indicated as practice. Practice time must also be logged on the time sheet next to the robot. A valid cost object number must be on record in the BioMicro Center and consumables are still charged. Once the user is using real samples, time is charged at our current rate found on the pricing page.

FAILURE TO FOLLOW BMC POLICIES ON SAFETY OR USAGE OF THE ROBOTS *WILL* RESULT IN REMOVAL OF YOUR ACCESS TO THE BIOMICRO CENTER

Full Service

In Full Service use, the BioMicro Center will be responsible for creating scripts, labware, and liquid classes to handle a user's protocol. Once completed, the user will be trained to run the protocol. Setup time will be estimated at a preliminary meeting and a cost and timeline will be estimated for the project. Once the protocol is set up, standard usage rates apply. Rates are on the pricing page.