F. Hoffmann-la Roche Ag

Hoffmann-la Roche Inc.

Bruker Biospin Ag

Roche Diagnositcs Operations, Inc.

Remo Anton Hochstrasser

Bernd Kuhn

Christof Fattinger

Urs Schwitter

Rainer Eugen Martin

Carlo S Effenhauser

Fiona Grueninger

Dieter Voegelin

Thomas Zumstein

Peter Berndt

Olaf Grassmann

Michael Fey

Tom Kissling

Pirmin Hidber

Alois Rainer

Kurt Himmelsbach

Hanno Langen

Michael Hennig

Albert Roeder

Frédéric Ran

Hansjörg Tschirky

Christoph Fattinger

Hans-Joachim Hoeltke

Michael Werner

Emmanuel Pinard

Karlheinz Baumann

Bjoern Bartels

Federica Morandi

Olaf Grassman

A method for determining a biological response of a target () to a soluble candidate substance includes the steps:

Method and system for determining a biological response of a target to a soluble candidate substance

A robotic microplate storage system includes a freezer room having freezing units and a first robot for moving and removing microplates into and out of the freezing unit. The first robot can also transfer microplates to a processing station, where the microplates are stored in a microplate recipient within the freezing unit. The storage system may also include at least one processing room which is thermally separated from the freezer room. Each processing room may include a processing station having a tube transfer module and a second robot for moving the microplates between the microplate recipients and the tube transfer module. The first robot may be designed such that it is only capable of removing a microplate recipient from and moving it into a freezing unit as well as transferring it from a freezing unit to a processing station or vice versa.

System and method for robotic storage of microplates

A multi-well filtration device for filtering a suspension comprises a filtration plate with a filtration chamber and a collecting plate with a collecting well. The filtration chamber is connected to the collecting well and a filter element is arranged between the filtration chamber and the collecting well. A separation layer is arranged between the filtration plate and the collecting plate adjacent to the filter element. The use such of a separation layer allows an easy detachment of the filtration plate from the collecting plate. The detached filtration plate can comfortably be transferred into an analysis device, in which the solid phase of the filtration chamber can separately be analyzed through the separation layer, without any replacement of the solid phase.

Multi-well filtration device

A stacker () for storing a plurality of microplates each having a top surface side and a bottom surface side opposed to the top surface side, comprises a housing and a removal gate () for removing a microplate of the plurality of microplates out of the housing. The stacker () is arranged to accommodate the plurality of microplates inside the housing such that the top surface side of one microplate of the plurality of microplates abuts on the bottom surface side of an adjacent microplate of the plurality of microplates and such that the housing adjoins to the plurality of microplates. Using such a stacker, the plurality of microplates can be arranged and stored in a compact manner wherein the single microplates of the plurality of microplates can still selectively and efficiently be accessed. Further, due to the controlled access to the plurality of microplates being arranged inside the housing of the described stackervia the removal gate, icing of the microplates can be minimized when the stacker is cooled for long term storage of samples arranged inside the microplates.

Stacker

A separation device and a separation method for biomolecular sample material and in particular protein mixtures. For this purpose a separation elementfor the two-dimensional and preferable electrophoretic separation of components of the sample material is provided in areaof a separation plane. According to the invention it is proposed that the separation elementhas a channel or transfer structurefor the locally resolved discharge of separated sample components in a transport direction that is at right angles to the separation plane onto a support surfacethat is preferably suitable for mass spectroscopic analyses.

Separation method and device for protein mixtures

A heatable pipette, with a needle has an inner channel defined by an inner wall, arranged to conduct electric current through the inner wall for resistively heating the inner wall. The needle has an outer wall, which is defined between the outer wall and the inner wall and connectable for providing pressure air into the outer channel. By conducting current directly through the inner wall, the inner wall itself operates as resistor. Particularly, if the inner wall is made of an appropriate material, for example of stainless steel, the ohmic resistance of the inner wall is not negligible even if the inner wall is very thin. Therefore, the inner wall can directly be used as resistor for resistance heating of the inner wall even if the needle is manufactured in small dimensions.

Heatable pipette

Methods for transmission mode X-ray diffraction analysis of a sample by means of apparatuses comprising an X-ray radiation source that provides X-ray radiation for irradiating the sample and a detector for detecting X-ray radiation transmitted through and diffracted by the sample. The methods include: (a) placing a sample to be analyzed on a substrate, (b) generating X-ray radiation by means of an X-ray radiation source, (c) positioning the substrate and the sample in an initial position, (d) rotating the substrate and the sample with respect to the initial position around a rotation axis over a predetermined rotation angle, (e) tilting the substrate and the sample with respect to the initial position around a tilting axis over a tilting angle, (f) detecting with a detector the X-ray radiation transmitted through and diffracted by the sample during a time interval, and (g) analyzing the X-ray radiation that is detected.

Methods of transmission mode X-ray diffraction analysis and apparatuses therefor

Microtiter plate

A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer for investigating a liquid sample in a sample tube, in particular a glass sample tube (), has a sample bushing () surrounding the sample tube having a bore into which one end of the sample tube is inserted with tight fit. The sample bushing () is preferably substantially cylindrical and the bore extends along the cylindrical axis. The NMR spectrometer has a gripping device () for handling the sample bushing (), the gripping device () having at least three gripping fingers (), and the outer periphery of the sample bushing () has at least one groove () into which the gripping fingers () can engage to press onto the two outer edges of the groove () when the gripping device () is closed. The cooperation between the groove and the gripping device permits fully automated, precise handling of the samples.

NMR spectrometer with gripping device for handling a sample bushing with outer groove

Growing community of inventors

Oberwil, Switzerland

Remo Anton Hochstrasser