(1146-C) Simultaneous 1536x Pipetting: Next-Generation Mass Spectrometry for High-Throughput Screening in Drug Discovery

Abstract: Within biopharmaceutical laboratories, there is a growing demand for label-free, high-throughput screening utilizing mass spectrometry (MS). Specifically, MALDI-TOF (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight) applications prove valuable in screening small molecules, peptides, and proteins for enzyme assays in both high-throughput (HTS - 10,000 compounds/day) and ultra-high-throughput (Ultra-HTS - 100,000 compounds/day) modes. To meet the swift analysis time of modern instruments like Bruker's timsTOF MALDI PharmaPulse® (reading rate up to 3 wells/sec), there is a need for accelerated sample preparation in high-throughput applications. Analytik Jena, in partnership with Bruker, presents a refined automated liquid handling system designed to enhance efficiency in MS sample preparation.
The sample preparation workstation includes the CyBio Well vario (96 - 1536) pipetting device and features an active drying and tip washing station, going beyond a mere spotting device. The patented tip sealing technology ensures an airtight seal, guaranteeing high precision with a uniform tip length of the 1 μL ceramic tips. This allows the pipetting robot to achieve a coefficient of variation (CV) of less than 5%, facilitating the transfer of small spots down to 100 nL. With its flexible platform, the system enables 1536 parallel transfers of matrix and sample to the MALDI target, complete with active drying, all accomplished in under 15 minutes. Effective scheduling allows for the spotting and reading of up to 130 plates daily. The fully automated dispensing and analysis system showcases unmatched performance in drug screening and early drug development, exemplified by conducting a diversity screen of 2 million molecules within a mere 10 days.
The automation solution, integrating the CyBio Well Vario with the Bruker MS system, effectively addresses liquid processing bottlenecks in drug screening, marking a significant advancement in ultra-high throughput, robustness, and reliability of MALDI-TOF sample preparation.