I’m looking for a dispenser to use with things like transfection reagents, master mixes, beads and maybe primers. Low dead volume is very important and I can’t be stuck with just one or two channels. I’ve been looking at:
Dispendix I.Dot
SPT Labtech Dragonfly
Gyger Certus Flex
Does anyone have direct experiences with any of these? Pros? Cons?
Thanks
I have experience with all of these devices. they are all good devices. just boils down to your exact need, and your preference.
have you looked at the Mantis, or the Temptest by Formulatrix? Liquid Handling - FORMULATRIX®
not to mention the BioRaptr… https://lgrdemo.alexabenreisman.com/
let me know if you have any specific questions per device.
Thanks
Justin
We use a Formulatrix Mantis for exactly these reagents (MessengerMax, Lipofectamine, Beads, etc). It’s not perfect, but it does work. The Mantis has the option of placing a pipette tip with your reagent on the dispensing chip, if you use this method the dead volume is very, very small. The default setup for a Mantis is only 6 chips, but you can get carousels that can bump that up to 48 chips (I think you can put a carousel on each side).
Yeah, the carousels are able to be loaded on both sides simultaneously.
I have only seen a couple of these in the wild. Processing time can be significant / prohibitive depending on the setup. It always felt like a bit of a trap - yes you can do it, but maybe there are better ways…
Not to say there are no use cases but did want to call attention to the logistics for that one.
The Dispendix I.Dot, the Dragonfly and the Certus Flex are all very good devices and it can be used for your application.
I’ve always seen the I.Dot like the competitor to the Echo, but it can take a deep well plate - the echo cannot.
Dragonfly is an amazing device and actually, we at Synthace are partners with them so I can connect you to the right people if you need it.
What I like about the dragonfly is its very quick ease of use. You simply set up the experiment, add in tips and away it goes. It’s extremely fast especially if you go with the 10-head configuration. When the plate is underneath the tips, all 10 can dispense at the same time. It’s also liquid class agnostic so I don’t have to worry the liquids I’m using, it auto-detects and auto adjusts.
This isn’t a con, but it’s a limiting factor, which is the reservoirs. It can only take in 10, which means if you have more than 10 reagents you have to split your experiment in layers.
I tried to do a setup guide actually here
The Certus Flex is another amazing device, the same as the dragonfly it’s very fast. The difference is that it’s 8 channels, not 10. However, the major benefits of the Certus Flex is sustainability. What you buy is what you get and use forever. Everything is reusable and autoclavable. What I also like about it is the configurations it has. You can get a stirrer module for cell work, and the tubing can go into any labware. You can have a big bottle sitting on a stirrer to keep reagents homogenous or have it sitting in an ice bath, so that’s cool.
And yes I have a video showing this
For the Certus it’s limiting again to the number of reagents, as it can only dispense 8 at a time, but you can set different layers so it just means switching out the reagents. Synthace works with the Certus Flex so again if you need assistance I can connect you to the right people.
I don’t have videos of the I.Dot but just know it’s a very capable device. You can’t go wrong with any of those 3 for the use case you described.
The Mantis is really good too as mentioned above and it can have up to 48 reagents. It’s also very very small, so it doesn’t take up much space at all. The downside to it though is the speed, it dispenses one reagent at a time instead of multiple like the other devices.
Hope all this helps!
Any questions do reach out.