Evaluation of an automated liquid-handling system (Tecan Genesis RSP 100) in the Abbott LCx assay for Chlamydia trachomatis.
The present study investigated the feasibility of automating the specimen-pipetting component of sample preparation in the LCx Chlamydia assay (LCx-CT assay; Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, Ill.) by using a commercially available liquid-handling system (Tecan Genesis RSP100; Tecan Inc., Research Triangle Park, N.C.). The Tecan instrument proved to be comparable in both precision and accuracy to a manual multipipettor (Eppendorf model 4850; Eppendorf Scientific, Westbury, N.Y.). The Tecan instrument was extensively checked for evidence of specimen-to-specimen transfer, and no level of contamination sufficient to generate a signal above the background in the LCx-CT assay was detected. Finally, pipetting speed was significantly improved by using the Tecan instrument. A mean time of 2.5 min was required to pipette a complete LCx-CT assay carousel (20 samples and 4 controls) with the Tecan instrument, whereas 8.4 min was required to pipette a comparable number of samples manually (P < 0.001).
Hanson
K L
KL
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Hennepin County Medical Center, 701 Park Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.
Cartwright
C P
CP
D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D002692:Chlamydia trachomatis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*