Team Members
Alexandra Canul, Jacob Sadowski, Serene Shbaklo, Buck Daley, Jack Adams, Uday Katravulapalli, Adam Edwards, Joshua Orteza
Abstract
CultureBot is a versatile microbioreactor that can accommodate a wide range of experimentation. Up to three independent experiments may be run at the same time with a large range of culture condition controls including shaking, heating, cooling, and optical measurements. Commercial systems that are currently available are limited in scope. Our competitors typically accommodate only well plates or conical tubes and lack condition control features suitable for both. Counterparts of the CultureBot cannot operate multiple experiments at once without the purchase of accessories, a larger footprint, and proprietary parts. Additionally, current commercial systems typically require assistance from lab technicians throughout the culture process. To emphasize automation, our system seeks to guarantee that there is no need for a lab technician to be present for the duration of the experiment. A key feature of this device is a gen-eral handling system used to transport well plates and conical tubes between liquid handling, climate control, and optical measurement stations. The autonomous liquid handling system accommodates disposable universal pipette tips to minimize cross-contamination. There are also three independent climate control units to allow multiple experiments to be performed at once. Each unit contains one of three shaking patterns to continuously agitate biological samples in preset temperature and atmospheric conditions. CultureBot combines the benefits of a fully automated system with the capability to support multiple independent experiments, and offers more user-controlled features to accommodate each laboratory’s experimental needs.