Tecan Fluent Liquid Handler Configuration When deciding on a liquid handler, it is important that you get the configuration that will best suit your needs and allows for growth.
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What assays will I run?
Knowing the assays that you wish to automate and the requirements each will include is important. The reason is you will need to know what labware will need to be used. Will it be tubes, microplates, PCR plates, or reagents? Also, will they need shaking, heating/cooling, magnetic or vacuum separation, and so on?
Throughput now and beyond.
For each assay, we will want to know your intended output and future output, if possible. Each system comes in multiple sizes and can handle on deck different amounts of plates, reagents, and supporting devices.
Service
When making an investment, you will need to know that you have the coverage to fit your budget in case of a failure.
What assays will I run?
Most use cases will require Span channels on a Flexible Channel Arm (FCA).
Span channels provide versatile functionality, transferring liquids from tubes, reagent reservoirs, or other wall plates into well plates, making them a core feature of liquid handlers. They are available in configurations ranging from 2 to 16 channels, with 8 channels being the most common, and can utilize either Air or Liquid FCA technology to suit various applications.
Liquid FCA
Can Use Fixed Tips: Due to washing requirements, Liquid FCA is required for fixed tips. This allows for saving on disposable tips and reliable septa piercing. Additionally, fixed tips allow for reaching the bottom of longer tubes and other deep labware.
Positive Displacement: The liquid system utilizes a solid column of liquid and can generate positive pressure, which can be used for Protein purification and parallel chRGAtography when paired with complementary accessories such as RoboColumns.
Low Volume Advantage: Small volumes below 10µL can have better CVs by up to 0.5%
Alternative System Liquids, option to use different system liquids such as DMSO for priming and bulk dispensing in compound management workflows.
Air FCA
No Cross Contamination: With disposable tips and the capability to free dispense down to 0.5µL, cross-contamination is a non-issue.
Low Maintenance: An air system does not require the added tubing and related hardware of a liquid system, so maintenance costs are lower.
Excellent CVs Over Larger Range: with the ability to dispense up to 1000µL, the Air FCA maintains lower CVs with more versatility.
Deckware Manipulation for More Productivity
Robotic arms like the RGA and PosID enhance system versatility by transferring deckware between peripherals, such as on-deck shakers and plate readers, automating sample tracking and improving overall efficiency and functionality.
Robotic Gripper Arm (RGA)
The Robotic Gripper Arm moves plates and tubes between devices without interrupting pipetting, ensuring efficient, unattended workflow. It can deliver labware to standalone barcode scanners or be equipped with forward- or rear-facing barcode readers, enabling real-time plate identification and rapid inventory scans of hotels and deck stacks.
Fluent ID Barcode Reader
Enhance your workflow with the Fluent ID option, delivering seamless barcode identification for sample tubes with instant read-as-you-load functionality and real-time feedback. Designed for flexibility, it accommodates up to 192 samples within just six grid spaces, ensuring exceptional speed, capacity, and security. Its modular design allows effortless scaling to support a variety of tube formats, optimizing efficiency without compromise.
Finger Exchange System
The Finger Exchange System automatically switches gripper configurations in seconds, adapting effortlessly to different labware. Eliminating manual adjustments maximizes walkaway efficiency and high-throughput flexibility.
Simultaneous Pipetting of 96 or 384 channels and Parallel Processing
The MCA heads allows for efficient high-throughput pipetting, handling multiple plates simultaneously with precision and speed, making it ideal for tasks like plate replication, reagent distribution, and assay setup in high-volume workflows.
Pipette with 96-, 384- and 1,536-well formats, including deep-well plates.
The Multiple Channel Arm offers flexible pipetting across individual rows, columns, or custom patterns, streamlining plate replication, sample reformatting, and dilution series. Its automatic tip format, size, and type selection ensure precise liquid handling across 96-, 384-, and 1,536-well formats, including deep-well plates, while maintaining optimal performance.
MCA adapter plates for more flexibility.
The Multiple Channel Arm maximizes productivity with fast, automated switching between 96- and 384-channel formats, as well as washable fixed or disposable tips, all within a single run. Its high-speed movement boosts throughput and reduces turnaround times, ensuring seamless, walkaway liquid handling.
Service
When investing in lab equipment, you need to trust it. Our offered services will give you this piece of mind.
Preventative Maintenance
Our Preventative Maintenance services ensure your Tecan Fluent operates at peak efficiency, minimizing downtime and extending the lifespan of your investment—because dependable equipment is essential for your lab’s success.
Extended Warranty
Protect your Tecan Fluent investment and your budget with our extended warranty, which ensures expert support and coverage for unexpected repairs. When planning your lab’s finances, you shouldn’t have to gamble on potential failures—our warranty gives you the peace of mind to focus on your work.
Artel MVS Liquid Verification
Our service ensures your Tecan Fluent delivers accurate and consistent liquid handling by verifying volumes across channels. Confidence in your results starts with precise measurements.
Throughput now and beyond.
The size will matter depending on your throughput needs and the number of arms you require. We carry the Fluent in three sizes.
Fluent 480
Designed for efficiency in small-to-medium throughput applications. This system delivers advanced liquid handling capabilities with optional robotics featuring:
- 30 plate positions
- 1075 mm/42.3”
- Capacity for mounting up to two arms
Fluent 780
Optimized for research and diagnostic laboratories. This advanced liquid handling and robotics workstation offers a larger integration area for devices and the ability to mount up to three arms, making it perfect for automating complex workflows.
- 48 plate positions
- Width 1450 mm/57.0”
- Capacity for mounting up to three arms
Fluent 1080
A powerful robotic platform for large-scale, high-throughput workflows. As the largest workstation in the Fluent series, it features 72 grids of worktable space, supports up to three arms, and offers flexible configurations with liquid handling and robotic options – providing ample room to expand and scale your processes as needs evolve.
- 72 plate positions
- Width 2050 mm/80.7”
- Capacity for mounting up to three arms
- There is plenty of room for multiple deck accessories such as shakers, heaters, and more
Options & Accessories
Options and Accessories give flexibility to your workflows, allowing you to do more.
Magnetic Deck Positions
Magnetic deck positions are designed for magnetic bead-based assays, enabling precision separation, mixing, and washing steps. They are essential for applications like nucleic acid purification, protein isolation, and other magnetic particle-based workflows.
Shaker Positions and Heated Positions
Orbital shakers are used for mixing samples, reagents, and solutions in applications like cell culturing, PCR setup, and biochemical assays. They ensure consistent agitation for precise and reproducible results in various laboratory workflows.
Solid-Phase Extraction
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) deck positions are used for automated sample preparation workflows, enabling the separation, purification, and concentration of analytes. They are commonly applied in fields like clinical diagnostics, drug discovery, and environmental analysis.
Tube Carriers
Tube carriers securely hold and organize tubes for automated liquid handling, ensuring precise positioning during pipetting and processing. They support various tube sizes and are essential for sample preparation, storage, and high-throughput workflows.
Temperature Controlled Positions
Temperature-controlled positions maintain precise heating or cooling of samples during liquid handling workflows, ensuring stability for sensitive assays. They are essential for applications like enzyme reactions, cell-based assays, and nucleic acid preparations.
Plate Hotels
Microplate hotels provide automated storage and retrieval of microplates, optimizing workflow efficiency in high-throughput screening and liquid handling systems. They come in multiple configurations and options including temeprature control.
Common Deck Plates and Carriers
Deck carriers secure and organize the placement of labware, such as microplates, tip racks, trash, and reservoirs, on liquid handling workstations. They ensure precise positioning for automated workflows, improving efficiency and reproducibility in sample processing.
On Deck Thermal Cyclers
On-deck thermal cyclers enable seamless integration of PCR and other temperature-sensitive reactions into automated liquid handling workflows. They provide precise thermal cycling for applications like DNA amplification, genotyping, and mutagenesis without manual plate transfers.
Custom Design
With our design and manufacturing capabilities, our team can provide fully customized labware holders, adapters, and carriers built to support specialized assays and high-throughput processes with maximum reliability.