CSP Labs is a leading private plant pathology and genetics testing laboratory, and carries out analyses for farmers, seed companies, nurseries and other businesses. The lab tests seed, plant and soil health, and also offers genotyping and genetic screening to support agricultural activities. Sereysimundy Chheo, a biologist at CSP Labs, explained the range of services it offers: “A lot of the genotyping work that we do is resistance testing; farmers want to ensure that their crops are resistant to certain pathogens, invasive species or insects. Many companies are also trying to create hybrid plants with favorable characteristics – like hardier growth in the winter, better root systems for the summer months, or a new flavor profile – and they will come to us to assess whether their hybridization attempts have been successful. We rely on the VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 handheld electronic pipettes for nucleic acid extraction and sample processing for these tests.”

Agricultural testing with international reach

These versatile 24, 96 and 384 channel pipetting solutions – with interchangeable pipetting heads – have allowed the laboratory to keep up with significant increases in demand in recent years. The agricultural industry is always looking for ways to boost productivity and innovation, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on many laboratory testing services. As a result, CSP Labs has acquired a wide variety of customers and much larger testing volumes. Sereysimundy added: “Within the last few years, our customer base has expanded significantly to include businesses all over the world. This means that our services are no longer seasonal; we are hard at work all year round, handling large volumes of samples. We are considered a high throughput lab, and INTEGRA provides us with the pipettes that we need to ensure that our process is efficient.”

Enhancing productivity

INTEGRA’s pipettes have integrated seamlessly into all stages of the laboratory’s workflow – from sample preparation and nucleic acid extraction to PCR and ELISA testing – due to their ease of use and flexibility. Sereysimundy commented: “Both the VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 are easy to use, as the controls consist of a sensitive touch wheel mechanism, which feels very intuitive. The pipettes share the same standardized buttons and functions as the 8 channel and 16 channel VIAFLO electronic pipettes that we use in our lab, making it easy to switch back and forth between them.”

This simple, intuitive design allows the laboratory to perform complex workflows quickly and efficiently using the VIAFLO instruments. Sereysimundy continued: “We use the VIAFLO 96 for DNA and RNA extraction from seeds – as well as for transferring and mixing buffers and solutions – and the VIAFLO 384 is instrumental in accelerating processes where we are working with 384 well plates, pipetting pure DNA samples in microscopic volumes and large quantities. These pipettes allow us to perform methods that would normally take four hours in as little as two and a half hours!”

A well-rounded service

Precision and accuracy are equally as vital as throughput in ensuring that the lab can keep up with increasing testing demands. The VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 pipettes not only boost productivity, but also ease the strain on lab personnel, while minimizing the risk of cross contamination and errors. In addition, VIAFLO pipettes are compatible with GRIPTIPS® pipette tips, offering a consistent tip seal to prevent tip loosening and enhance pipetting accuracy. Sereysimundy concluded: “We rely on the VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 instruments to ensure the speed, precision and accuracy of our results. INTEGRA also provides regular servicing, quick response times and great customer support in the rare event that anything goes wrong, so that we can keep providing reliable testing and maintain our reputation, customer relationships and trust.”