AUTOMATION OF INCUBATION, PROCESSING, HARVESTING AND ANALYSIS OF SAMPLES IN A MULTI-CELL PLATE WITH THIN FILM SAMPLE SUPPORT

摘要

The present invention relates to the automation of incubation, processing, harvesting and analysis of samples (15) in a multi-cell plate (1). In particular, a multi-cell plate (1) comprising a body (3) with a plurality of cells (5) is presented. Furthermore, an automated crystal harvesting and processing system (21) with a cutting unit (23), a fluid unit (29) and a removing device (33) is presented. The multi-cell plate (1) further comprises a sealing film (7) for sealing the cells (5) on a first side (9) of the body (3) and a sample film (11) for sealing the cells (5) on a second side (13) of the body (3). The sample film (11) is adapted for accommodating a biological material (15) for crystallization. Furthermore, the sample film (11) is of a thickness and composition that makes it compatible with x-rays and also with laser ablation. The design of the multi-cell plate (1) and the automated crystal harvesting and processing system (21) allows for several steps of incubation, processing, harvesting and analysis of the samples (15) to be automated.