PCR Automation: Getting It Right

In the past 20 years, PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) has become an essential technique used by geneticists to study and diagnose human disease, forensic scientists to identify criminals, agriculturalists to discern attributes of high-yield cultivars and evolutionary biologists to understand speciation patterns.

PCR standardization and subsequent miniaturization have enabled labs to run significantly larger studies for the same cost or even less. As the number of samples per study grows, it becomes more difficult to achieve consistent performance and quality while processing samples manually.

Automating the liquid handling steps within PCR provides more speed, accuracy and precision than manual processing. Most labs that routinely process more than two 96-well-plate PCR samples per week begin to consider automated solutions. Some labs assume that automation is too expensive or difficult, but today's solutions are more cost effective and easy to achieve than you might think.

Implement with dedicated experts

Scaling your PCR workflow from the bench-top to an automated process will take attention to detail. Successful labs will ensure the basics of their PCR workflow are stable and find partners to help them implement automation successfully.

Automating will probably involve changing plate layouts and learning a new software program. It is important to nominate a dedicated person in the lab to learn and skillfully deploy the new software for programming, analysis and reporting.

However, do not assume that all automation software is inherently challenging. Finding a supplier with intuitive software is important. Easy-to-use graphical user interface, or GUI, and the scripting needs to be simple enough for a lab technician to pick up quickly, especially if the user is familiar with other liquid handler scripting.

To learn the intricacies of sophisticated liquid handling instrumentation, take full advantage of your supplier's field engineers -- they can collaborate with you and determine which steps need to be modified to scale up operations. They can also show you other applications that can be automated in your lab and help you make the most of your instrument.