Open-source rapid prototyping for biotech

In today’s fast-paced world, automated tasks and the behind-the-scenes technology that ensures these tasks are completed accurately are more critical than ever. In the biotech industry, it is commonly accepted that today’s biologists spend too much time moving around tiny amounts of liquid by hand. As it’s known in the industry, “micropipetting” is a repetitive, error-prone, time-consuming task, and most important, this process is slowing down research.

OpenTrons has recently introduced a technological advance that can automate this process. OpenTrons’ OT.One is a personal liquid-handling robot for biotech innovation. As OpenTrons states on its website, “The OT.One pipettes for you, so you can focus on moving your project forward. Lower your error rate, free up your time, and accelerate your research.”

The OT.One project is currently being funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which needs to reach its $100,000 fundraising goal before the conclusion date on Nov. 30, 2014. The Kickstarter campaign page also details available upgrades to the OT.One, including the OT.MagWash station for magnetic micro-bead washes, a multichannel micropipette, and on-board camera.

So, how would a researcher go about using the OT.One? In three simple steps, says OpenTrons.

1. Design protocols on Mix.Bio, the first-ever community for the peer-to-peer development of open-source automated biology protocols. Mix.Bio is a modular interface where users drag and drop tools, commands, and locations right in the browser.
2. Share protocols peer-to-peer with a community of researchers.
3. Run protocols on OpenTrons.

To learn more about the technology and the OT.One Kickstarter campaign, visit www.opentrons.com.

Via Kickstarter