Powder Handling - Zinsser Analytic adds their engineering expertise to the liquid handling platform with special tools for the aspiration of powders, resins, and other particles. Using various platform configurations, it is possible to aspirate and dispense powders, weigh them, or combine them with liquids.
Applications	Synthesis resins Scavenger resins Beads Powders Crystals Compound libraries Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Salts Freeze-dried powders Seeds Insect eggs

Using a variety of tools developed by Zinsser, it is now possible to achieve reliable handling and dispensing of powders and particles. Zinsser offers several different platforms for powder handling, each optimized for a specific requirement, such as the amounts that need to be managed.

REDI: The REDI platform is designed for straight powder manipulation, such as distributing resins from reservoirs into reactors, reacttion blocks, and microplates. The REDI eliminates the tedious manual handling of these powders. For example, a single tip can be used to fill a 96-well plate in 15 minutes. Or, multiple tips can be added for higher throughput.

How it works: This diagram shows the basic steps in the process. First, the source reservoir is subject to shaking or stirring to ensure an even particle distribution. Then, the powder is aspirated in to the special tip. Since the tip is dipped into the powder for sampling, some particles may stick to the outside, affecting the reproducibility. To minimize this, the tip is rubbed against a special tool to strip it. The, the particles are distributed to the various destination points. Finally, the tip is cleaned to prevent clogging and carryover.

Performance. It is possible to achieve reproducibilities of ±5% for 10mg, ±2% for 50mg, and ±1% for 150mg. The actual performance will depend on the nature of the particles to be handled. "Ideal" particles are greater than 5 microns, free flowing, and are homogeneously distributed. Powder pipetting performance can be optimized by manipulating various factors and parameters.

Zinsser will offer to test your particles if you are unsure of their potential for automated handling. During testing, we will determine the best type of powder tool to work with your type of samples.

Flexibility. The REDI can be configured with 1-4 powder tips and one or multiple powder reservoirs. The flexible deck allows various configurations with wash stations, reactors, stirrers, vortexers, heaters, chillers, and more. The REDI can be configured with any of 4 possible types of tips.

• FIX tip for a fixed volume.
• PICKFIX tip allows automated pick up of different tips with fixed volumes.
• VAREDI tip is manually adjustable for different volumes.
• VARIX tip allows programmable selection of volume from software control.
  
  

The ability to handle powders becomes even more powerful when it is combined with other technologies such as liquid handling, weighing, and synthesis.

LIPOS: The LIPOS platform combines powder handling and liquid handling on a single platform. This means that precise amounts of solids can be combined with liquids. LIPOS can prepare SPE plates, add magnetic beads or add freeze-dried antibodies or enzymes for separation and purification.

CALLI: The CALLI platform can combine powder handling with liquid handling and weighing, providing even more advanced sample management capabilities. The CALLI VARIX will control the dosage of distributed dry materials by weighing the receiving container or by automatically weighing the powder with the REDI tip. The CALLI ESP will allow powders to be weighed and transported, then liquids can be added to generate required solutions.

SOPHAS CAT: This solid phase synthesize combines liquid and powder handling with reaction blocks and other synthesis tools. This allows complete control over set up of reagents and solutions.

REDI Super: With the new (2007) REDI Super tool it is now possible to dispense larger amounts of solid material, from 100 mg to 100 g with +/- 2% precision. A vibratory dispensing mechanism is used in combination with a destination container that is placed on a precision balance, allowing the system to dispense solid until a programmed target weight is reached.

REDI Micro: This tool has been developed to work with low volumes. It is possible to start with 2 mg of starting material and distribute to 96 wells. Each well will have approximately 21 micrograms of substance!


Photo gallery. Click these pictures to open a larger version in a new window.

Basic REDI platform	Large REDI for high volume powder handling	LIPOS for powder and liquid handling	SOPHAS CAT organic synthesis platform with powder and liquid handling
Rack of different size powder reservoirs	Different sizes of FIX TIPS	REDI Micro tool for very small volumes.	REDI Tool handling API. A combination of liquid probes and a powder probe is shown in operation.
REDI Super for large volume powder dispensing.