The two companies are developing a series of automation protocols using Caliper's Sciclone ALH 3000 Liquid Handling Workstation with a variety of Sigma-Aldrich's biochemicals and reagent kits.
The first kits to have been automated include Sigma's Extract-N-Amp Blood and Tissue kits - novel systems for the rapid extraction and subsequent amplification of genomic DNA from blood and animal tissues - as well as HIS-Select Integrated Lysis and Purification (iLAP) plates - a platform for purifying recombinant proteins.
Validated automation protocols for these kits are now available for download from Sigma's website .
Keith Jolliff, global strategic marketing manager at Sigma-Aldrich. Said the goal was to develop true 'walk-away' systems to the molecular biology and proteomics research community.