Temperature Regulation Woes in Integrated Liquid Handler Systems

Thermocyclers, peltiers, cooling hotels, and liquid handlers are just a few instruments designed to fully automate temperature-sensitive experiments and make creating high throughput data easier. However, integrating various third-party instruments on an enclosed liquid handler for a novel process can come with a multitude of challenges, both predictable and unpredictable. It’s important to keep the functionality of all instruments in mind, as well as biological limitations, as one event may impact the functionality of another instrument down the line.

Keeping plates and reagents cool while also performing heated steps such as elution and PCR can in turn generate large amounts of heat and condensation where it’s not wanted. The condensation may enter wells and disrupt volume or salt concentrations during long incubations and heat generation will cause temperatures inside the liquid hander to rise causing ambient buffers to be warmer than room temperature or causing rubber feet on instruments to expand and interfere with teaching points. This poster outlines the experiments and solutions to the problems incurred by heat generation of 5-10F inside of an enclosed liquid handler, as well as problems arising from incubating inside of a thermocycler at 95 C.