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Jena, Germany, January 31, 2018 – Analytik Jena was already able to impress at the SLAS life science conference in 2017 with the presentation of SmartExtraction, a worldwide unique process  for the purification and isolation of nucleic acids. SmartExtraction won the coveted 2017 New Product Award (NPA) of the SLAS International Conference & Exhibition. This year, the Thuringia-based company will take another step: At the SLAS 2018 in San Diego, a fully-automated system solution for the SmartExtraction process will be presented for the first time. Its core component is the modular CyBio^® FeliX liquid handling system.

“It is necessary to think about lab automation in the overall context,” explains Manuela Beil-Peter, Director of Lab Automation and Liquid Handling at Analytik Jena. “We have accomplished precisely this with the automation of SmartExtraction on our modular and flexible liquid handling platform CyBio^® FeliX. Here everything is brought into harmony: kits, pipetting platform, and additional equipment that is necessary for DNA extraction.”

SmartExtraction, with its combination of the patented extraction chemistry (DC^® technology) and a smart modified surface, enables the modeling of the entire extraction process within one pipette tip using simple pipetting steps. The advantages for the user are a significantly streamlined extraction workflow, increased processing efficiency, and a higher DNA yield. CyBio^® FeliX combined with SmartExtraction povide a reliable way for high sample throughput in NA extraction. In this context, the fully automated pipetting system is part of an automation solution for the entire extraction workflow in the lab. Corresponding ready-to-use kits and specific device configurations, which are needed for nucleic acid extraction with CyBio^® Felix, are calibrated to each other for high throughput and integrated into automated pipetting routines. Automation ensures high reproducibility of the pipetting results and increases processing efficiency significantly.

But not only SmartExtraction benefits from CyBio^® FeliX. The pipetting platform is designed in such a way that it can be optimally integrated into existing systems and processes that are to be automated. The device with up to 384 channels and a volume range of 0.5 to 1,000 µl enables parallel transfer in 96 and 384-well format and pipetting with  single channel, by column, or by row. Given the modular design of the device, customization to lab requirements is possible. Application-specific configurations can be adjusted and expanded according to specific needs. The degree of automation makes it possible for the device to detect and change tips and pipetting tools independently within a pipetting routine. The pipetting heads are also easy to replace.

Overall it will be possible to view and experience nine CyBio^® FeliX systems at SLAS 2018. Along with Analytik Jena (booth #1019), other partner companies will present the system at their booths.

You can find additional information at https://www.analytik-jena.de/en/lab-automation/products-lab-automation/liquid-handling/cybior-felix.html and https://www.analytik-jena.de/en/life-science/products/cat/cat/smartextraction.html.