Open-source Liquid Handler

Orome · 10-18-2017, 10:26 AM

Hey all,
I recently came across the opentrons open-source liquid handler system and participated in a video demo with one of their sales managers. They claim to have managed to automate Nextera XT library prep including bead-based normalization, but for $3,000 that seems a bit too good to be true. Does anyone here have any experience with this (very small - they have only sold around 400 systems yet) company.

Thanks a ton.

sbarberan · 12-13-2017, 10:26 PM

Did you find more information about this liquid handler? We are also interested in this system, it does sounds like a perfect low-budget solution.

Orome · 12-18-2017, 03:27 AM

I actually had the chance to see one in the flesh. It is indeed a cool idea. The liquid handler is basically a 3d printer like contraption that takes normal handheld single- and multi-channel pipettes. It seems to do the job perfectly well if you are investing a bit of time and not working with super critical applications. Apparently, you have to do quite a bit of adjustments before it runs smoothly. Opentrons don't provide any kind of on-site support but seem to have a helpful online support.
It has none of the fancy features of the "professional" LHs like collision control, liquid status control or any kind of certification. I would probably not use it to automate my entire pipeline but consider buying one for simple and non-critical tasks (at <10% the price of a Eppendorf/Hamilton/etc. this is too tempting).

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10-18-2017, 10:26 AM	#1
Orome Junior Member Location: London Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 4	Open-source Liquid Handler Hey all, I recently came across the opentrons open-source liquid handler system and participated in a video demo with one of their sales managers. They claim to have managed to automate Nextera XT library prep including bead-based normalization, but for $3,000 that seems a bit too good to be true. Does anyone here have any experience with this (very small - they have only sold around 400 systems yet) company. Thanks a ton.

12-13-2017, 10:26 PM	#2
sbarberan Member Location: Santa Cruz, CA Join Date: Feb 2017 Posts: 17	Did you find more information about this liquid handler? We are also interested in this system, it does sounds like a perfect low-budget solution.

12-18-2017, 03:27 AM	#3
Orome Junior Member Location: London Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 4	I actually had the chance to see one in the flesh. It is indeed a cool idea. The liquid handler is basically a 3d printer like contraption that takes normal handheld single- and multi-channel pipettes. It seems to do the job perfectly well if you are investing a bit of time and not working with super critical applications. Apparently, you have to do quite a bit of adjustments before it runs smoothly. Opentrons don't provide any kind of on-site support but seem to have a helpful online support. It has none of the fancy features of the "professional" LHs like collision control, liquid status control or any kind of certification. I would probably not use it to automate my entire pipeline but consider buying one for simple and non-critical tasks (at <10% the price of a Eppendorf/Hamilton/etc. this is too tempting).