Martin Pollard
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Engineering Science Department, Human Genome Group, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, Phone: (510) 486-4561, Fax: (510) 486-6816, mjpollard@lbl.gov
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Human Genome Center is sequencing Human and Drosophila DNA using a directed sequencing strategy. The Center is currently sequencing at a rate greater than 2 million base pairs per year and DNA preparation procedures are reaching a critical stage requiring automation in a 96 well format. Current progress in developing DNA preparation protocols and automation of these protocols will be described. A modified boil prep protocol is being implemented on a gantry style robot (827 W x 1715 L x 340 H mm) configured with an Eppindorf 5416 centrifuge. The robot tools consist of two 8 channel Biomek MP200 pipettors, 5 eight channel dispensing manifolds, and a pneumatic gripper for moving the microtiter plates within the work envelope and into and out of the centrifuge.
This work was supported by the Director, Office of Energy Research, Office of Health and Environmental Research, Human Genome Program, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098.