The number of activities still performed manually is a major bottleneck in microbiology labs. Many of these routine tasks – including media preparation – are mundane, and take a significant amount of effort and time away from higher value activities. New approaches have the potential to significantly increase laboratory throughput by limiting the amount of manual handling and automating key processes. INTEGRA Biosciences offers a range of products that integrate seamlessly into existing workflows and can be easily scaled as needs evolve, meaning labs of any size can save time and boost throughput without needing to invest in large, complex robotic systems.

How INTEGRA’s MEDIACLAVE and MEDIAJET streamline workflows

The MEDIACLAVE 10/30 media sterilizer can be integrated with the MEDIAJET Petri dish filler to create a seamless, closed workflow for automated media preparation and plate filling. Gerald Posch, Product Manager, explained: “Together, these products provide a hands-free workflow to go directly from media to ready-to-use plates. The MEDIACLAVE uniformly stirs and sterilizes the media, which is then automatically dispensed by the MEDIAJET into Petri dishes. Automating this process enables labs to take a big step forward, saving time, reducing the risk of contamination and improving consistency.”

Applying automation to microplate formats using WELLJET

Modern microbiological experiments are increasingly being performed in miniaturized formats. “More and more, labs are going from Petri dishes to 6, 12, 24 or 96 well microplates. For these formats, INTEGRA’s WELLJET reagent dispenser can be used to fill individual wells with media. Like the MEDIAJET, the WELLJET can be coupled directly to the MEDIACLAVE, and we have recently released new accessories to help these products work together even better,” Gerald explained.

A key challenge when dispensing media into microplates is that agar polymerizes as it cools, making clogging likely, especially in small tubes and nozzles. “Automated media dispensing into microplates has the potential to save a significant amount of time. We’re aware of the challenges when dispensing agar, and have extensively tested the WELLJET to ensure it’s up to the task. Conveniently, the WELLJET can dispense at temperatures up to 80 °C and, at these higher temperatures, it provides consistent volumes and high quality media.”

Automation that grows with the lab

INTEGRA’s automation solutions are designed to be scalable, growing and changing with the demands of the laboratory. Besides these automated solutions for filling, Gerald sees several other opportunities to streamline microbiology workflows labs with innovative tools: “The PIPETBOY GENIUS pipet controller is another opportunity for microbiology labs to simplify daily tasks. Its repeat dispense feature is really handy, improving aliquoting by ensuring reproducible filling of dishes or culture tubes while providing better ergonomics for technicians. Other pipetting solutions – such as the SWITCH hybrid pipette – have similar advantages for tasks requiring lower volumes, making microbiology labs more productive through simple workflow improvements.”