The MultiPROBE® II Plus (MP II) is a liquid handler from PerkinElmer; it uses syringes and a peristaltic pump. To pipette liquid from a source it will use the syringes to move a liquid through very small tubes letting this liquid (referred to as the “system liquid”) work as a plunger. Hereby the system liquid is a direct extension of the syringes. So if the syringes move down, the tips can take up the desired liquid from the source. This makes an effective way of cleaning tips and tubes after a pipette step. For moving larger volumes of liquid, the peristaltic pump is used.
Although the MP II is of a somewhat older design, in my experience, it is still very much suited for al kinds of applications. I base this on our own applications, which mainly require the mixing of different reagents and the dispensing of these mixes to either a 96- or a 384-well plate. We also use the MPII to pool different DNA samples for screening. At the current time, we have 2 MP IIs in the lab, one with a 2 meter deck and 8 syringes and another with a 1 meter deck and 4 syringes.
The strongest pluses to the MP II are its robustness and accuracy when it comes to the deck positions and liquid handling. And if something does breakdown, the technicians from PerkinElmer in the Benelux are quick to respond and come to fix the problems.
It is also worth mentioning, however, that the lack of a robot gripper or other means to move plates to or from the deck is a limitation, especially for high throughput labs. One small thing is the fact that there is not an ultrasonic cleaning station, so if you use fixed tips, it is very hard to clean the tips, especially when you are using DNA and a detection method that uses PCR for its screenings. If you would like to pipette DNA, I would recommend using disposable tips or settle for the fact that cleaning of the tubes and tips takes several hours and some aggressive cleaning solutions.
The MPII is a reliable workhorse for our lab. And we will probably be using the MPIIs we have for years to come for all of our pipetting work, from 5 ul up to 2 ml.
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Edwin van Zon, BSc.
Technical Molecular Engineer
Moleculaire Biology Implementation
Rijk Zwaan B.V.
Netherlands
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