Patients diagnosed with solid cancers or autoimmune diseases often have limited and ineffective treatment options. Understanding how the immune system recognizes, targets and destroys cancer cells is crucial for developing alternative treatments for these challenging conditions. 3T Biosciences was founded in 2017 as a spin-out from Stanford University and specializes in developing T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies that target novel peptide-HLA targets. The company’s proprietary 3T-TRACE™ platform technology takes advantage of diverse target libraries and machine-learning algorithms to identify and validate novel T-cell receptors and targets from patient immune responses. This enables detection of the most prevalent immunogenic targets in solid tumors that can be targeted therapeutically.

The team at 3T Biosciences has been using various handheld INTEGRA products – including EVOLVE lightweight manual pipettes, VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipettes and a VIAFLO 96 handheld electronic pipette – for several years. However, there has been a growing need for automation solutions to increase efficiency in target discovery and therapeutic development as the company has expanded. Jake Kleiner, an Associate Scientist at 3T Biosciences explained: “The team wanted to reduce reliance on manual pipetting – which is prone to errors – and standardize protocols for greater accuracy and reproducibility. With no dedicated automation specialist in house, we required a user-friendly solution that would allow non-experts in laboratory automation to create and modify protocols for different experiments. Our previous positive experiences with INTEGRA devices made it an easy decision for us to choose the company as a trusted partner once again.” 3T Biosciences’ lab acquired an ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot with a D-ONE single channel pipetting module to automate protein distribution during normalization and aliquoting. The team members were particularly drawn to the platform’s compact size – as it fits within their biosafety hood – making it ideal for cell culture work. The ASSIST PLUS can also be used to automate the lab’s existing VOYAGER handheld pipettes.

Making lab automation more accessible and efficient

The adoption of the ASSIST PLUS has led to significant workflow improvements at 3T Biosciences, reducing human error and providing more consistency in liquid handling. The system standardizes protocol execution, helping to ensure uniform results across different users and experiments, such as during lentiviral production and transfections. By automating repetitive tasks, manual workloads are reduced and staff are freed up to carry out other more complicated and technical responsibilities.

3T Biosciences creates the protocols for the ASSIST PLUS using VIALAB pipette automation software. Jake has been leading efforts to integrate automation into the lab’s diverse workflows, and relies on VIALAB for protocol creation without previous extensive programming expertise. He described his experience with the technology: “Automation has become one of the most enjoyable aspects of my work. Despite having limited programming experience, I have been able to take advantage of VIALAB to achieve advanced lab automation, which has improved efficiency and scientific outcomes. VIALAB’s user-friendly graphical interface and intuitive, straightforward protocols enable non-experts to quickly and easily set up and run their own complex workflows. This allows us to meet a growing number of specific lab needs and provides us with flexibility for potential future applications.”

Expanding automation to make room for future growth

Jake and his colleagues have also had positive experiences with INTEGRA’s service team, praising their responsiveness and efficiency in directing their queries to the right experts. This level of support, combined with the capabilities of the instruments, has made the introduction of automation seamless and stress free for 3T Biosciences. Looking to the future, the company aims to integrate automation into more liquid handling processes to increase its high throughput screening capacity, optimize workflows for more complex biological assays, and develop additional standardized protocols for therapeutic discovery.