Dr. Ming Chen depends on speed and accuracy the way most of us depend on inhaling and exhaling.

That’s because Chen directs a biochemistry facility that provides automated high-throughput services to all interested researchers in China. Located in Shanghai, the facility runs experiments for more than 50 research groups.

“We are aiming to establish an open platform for translational research, bridging basic research to preclinical research and development,” he says.

Most of the experiments involve functional genomics and drug screening.

“New drugs for new target, that’s the ideal direction for our efforts,” Chen says.

Dramatically Improved Screening Performance

“With our genome-wide siRNA libraries and small compound libraries, we help to carry out high-throughput and high-content screening projects with speed and accuracy,” he says.

That’s where Chen and his colleagues depend on the Agilent Bravo Automated Liquid Handling Platform.

“Automation in liquid handling is essential,” he says. “Without our Bravo platform, we barely could do any large-scale screening.”

The facility started its automation efforts with the Bravo liquid handler and a PlateLoc thermal microplate sealer. It soon added more automation products from Agilent, including a BenchBot robot to handle microplates, a microplate labeler, a centrifuge, and a rotating minihub to easily access labware.

Ming Chen, Ph.D., Director, High-Throughput Biochemistry Facility, Shanghai, China

Multifunctional and Highly Automated

The real strength of the system, Chen says, lies in the fact that it is multifunctional and highly automated.

“We routinely run experiments with 1,000 to 20,000 samples now,” he says. “The Bravo fits our need very well, and we have used this platform to dramatically improve our screening performance in throughput and functional capability.”

The key benefits of the system, Chen points out, are its speed and reliability. It’s also easy to use, he says, thanks to a user-friendly interface.

“Agilent has great people and provides reliable service, which are the reasons that I have the confidence to keep expanding our Agilent automation platform,” Chen says.

To learn more about the Agilent Bravo Platform and how other researchers use it, visit www.agilent.com/lifesciences/Bravo

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Information, descriptions and specifications in this publication are subject to change without notice.

© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2014, Published in USA, November 1, 2014, 5991-5308EN

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