Improving Automated Liquid Handling Performance for Serum-Based Assays

Serum is a complex fluid component of blood used in a variety of biomedical assays.  Due to the unique rheological properties of serum compounded by the absolute need for accurate and precise results of these tests, doctors and scientists depend on liquid handling precision and accuracy.  Determining an ideal liquid class for this complex solution can be challenging, made only more difficult by the fluid handling properties of the solutions themselves. In many cases, optimizing liquid class settings with the actual test solutions is problematic due to prohibitive cost or limited availability.

Artel has developed SerumSub QualAssure™, a test solution with liquid handling properties that are analogous to several commonly use mammalian sera.  SerumSub is a serum-like solution that can be used to assist in liquid class optimization, volume verification, and calibration of automated liquid handlers (ALH). This solution has been specifically engineered to speed up ALH liquid class development and optimization and allow for the most accurate and reliable assay results that involve serum samples.   In this study we show the similarities of SerumSub compared to various commercially available mammalian sera. We also show that aqueous and glycerol solutions are not suitable mimics for serum.