Thermo Fisher Showcases New Equipment at Analytica 2018

On April 10, 2018, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced newer products and equipment for cell culture labs, which it has since showcased at Analytica 2018 on April 10–13, 2018 in Munich, Germany. The company featured the following products and equipment.

Cell culture management technology for sample protection

The company’s Cell Locker system for cell culture management optimizes sample security for gene therapy, cell therapy, and regenerative medicine applications development.

The segregation of sensitive cells into individual, removable, and protected chambers within the same incubator is enabled by the new system, which helps users preserve the integrity of cultures for therapeutic use in addition to reducing the need for capital investment and laboratory space, as stated by the company.

The system is designed to quarantine different cell types or projects by dividing an incubator into six separate autoclavable polycarbonate chambers, making it safe to keep different cultures within close proximity. Each chamber can hold nine T-75 cell culture flasks, 20 six-well plates, or 24 96-well plates. The design also allows users to use all six chambers or combine a few chambers with traditional shelf space.

According to the company, independent testing has confirmed that microbial contaminants cannot penetrate or escape a closed chamber, greatly reducing cross contamination potential. Door openings affect only the cells grown within the specific chamber being accessed while conditions across the other chambers remain stable and consistent for optimal growth.

The system is available for the company’s Heracell VIOS 160i and Forma Steri-Cycle i160 CO2 incubators, which have been enhanced with a six-segmented inner-door configuration to accommodate the individual chambers.

Cloud-based biological safety cabinet for contamination control

The HeraSafe 2030i biological safety cabinet (BSC) optimizes contamination control and improves efficiency across biopharmaceutical, bioproduction, clinical diagnostic, and applied research applications. The cabinet uses the company’s Connect cloud-based connectivity to allow for secure remote collection and storage of data, facilitating analytical reproducibility, and traceability of results. 

The unit uses a set of self-managed security features, offering protection from airborne contaminants without requiring any user interference. The cabinet is equipped with a user-friendly graphic touch screen that clearly displays internal BSC conditions such as airflow patterns while providing information on errors and usage manipulations. Additionally, according to the company, its SmartFlow Plus Auto Compensation technology facilitates extended filter life, improving the overall performance of the BSC unit.

Cloud-based application for pipetting

The company’s My Pipette Creator is a cloud-based application designed to streamline pipetting while enabling connectivity with electronic pipettes for safe and rapid sharing of protocols.

Initially introduced to the market in March 2017, the application was developed for use in conjunction with the Bluetooth-enabled Thermo Scientific E1-ClipTip electronic pipettes and provides secure storage and sharing of protocols between pipettes and colleagues within the lab.

The application offers a library of pre-programmed protocols for the company’s pipettes and reagent kits and allows users to achieve reproducible and traceable results. Multiple users can connect and sync several electronic pipettes at once using their PC.

According to the company, the application has been ergonomically constructed to reduce the strain on the user’s eyes and hands commonly experienced with repeated operation of individual pipettes. In addition to Bluetooth, connectivity with the compatible pipettes can also be achieved using a micro USB cable, depending on the user’s preference.

The My Pipette Creator application is part of Thermo Fisher Connect, a cloud platform encompassing scientific data analysis and storage, remote instrument access and collaboration tools designed to enable scientists to accelerate their research and for lab managers to boost their lab’s productivity, as stated by the company.

Source: Thermo Fisher Scientific