June 19, 2007 — WESTBROOK, ME — ARTEL announces that Yellowstone National Park has been selected as the location for Mission #2 of the Extreme Pipetting Expedition. At Yellowstone, ARTEL will test how pipetting liquids at a temperature different than the pipette (thermal disequilibrium) affects delivered volume and data accuracy and precision.
While today’s laboratories are usually temperature-controlled, it is very common to handle liquids that are extremely hot or cold. For example, restriction enzymes used in nucleic acid work are frequently handled at ice temperature (0 degrees Celsius), and higher temperatures are encountered with handling mammalian cell cultures (37 degrees Celsius) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) solutions (60 degrees Celsius or higher). Because pipettes deliver different volumes when fluids are at different temperatures, laboratories need to account for the resulting volume variation.
To draw attention to the importance of considering temperature disequilibrium in clinical testing, and help laboratories develop strategies to overcome this effect, ARTEL will release the results from Mission #2 at the 2007 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, San Diego, CA, July 15-19, Booth #4143. At AACC, ARTEL will also hold the Pipetting Olympics to reward laboratorians for superior pipetting skills, a major factor in data accuracy and precision. The competition will, for the first time, include multichannel pipetting competitions.
Yellowstone was selected as the site for Mission #2 because it is emblematic of thermal variation. The active geothermal features at Yellowstone include hundreds of geysers, steam vents, and hot springs, all set in an alpine environment where air temperatures of -45 degrees Celsius have been recorded. Water and steam temperatures in Yellowstone range from below freezing to nearly 140 degrees Celsius (280 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition to the well-known Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone is also the natural home of Thermus aquaticus (the source of Taq DNA Polymerase), which was first isolated from the park’s Fountain Geyser region.
The Extreme Pipetting Expedition is a multi-phase, year-long scientific study to illustrate the impact of laboratory conditions on data integrity. More information can be found at http://www.artel-usa.com/extreme.
About ARTEL
ARTEL is the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance. Based on its proprietary Ratiometric Photometry technology, ARTEL manufactures the most accurate, precise, and easy-to-use systems available for ensuring data integrity in liquid volume measurement. ARTEL systems utilize an ISO-conforming method (ISO 8655-7) to provide NIST-traceable results. In addition, ARTEL provides liquid handling quality assurance support and consultation services including on site pipetting technique training and certifications for pipette users and laboratory managers, as well as Liquid Handler Performance Verification services for automated laboratories.
Since 1982, ARTEL technology has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories including pharmaceutical, clinical, forensics, public health and drug discovery. Leading institutions such as Amgen, ARUP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Center for Disease Control, DuPont, Eli Lilly, Genomic Health, IDT Technologies, Mayo Clinic, Merck, Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center and U.S. FDA depend on ARTEL technology to help them meet their objectives for quality and productivity. For more information, contact ARTEL at 25 Bradley Drive, Westbrook, ME 04092; Tel: 207-854-0860; Fax: 207-854-0867; web site: http://www.artel-usa.com