arktic – Compact, Automated Biostore Facility
Academic research groups and pharmaceutical companies need compact, automated and secure -80°C biostore facilities to accommodate increasing volumes of biological samples, ranging from DNA and RNA, to cell lines, stem cells and tissues. Effective biobanking is an essential pre-requisite for high-quality biological research.
The proper collection, processing, storage, and tracking of biospecimens are vital, allowing researchers to achieve accurate and valuable research results. To meet these challenges, TTP Labtech has created arktic a cost-effective, compact storage unit which provides unrivalled storage density, full sample tracking and rapid retrieval.
To ensure viability and reduce sample degradation it is vital to minimise the risks of thawing, either within the cold zone or during sample selection. TTP Labtechs arktic provides easy sample access and stable temperatures to give you unrivalled robustness and reliability for your -80°C storage requirements.
Key Benefits
- Outstanding high density storage up to 140,000 x 0.5mL or 60,000 x 1.4mL samples per module
- Ultra-low temperature samples maintained at -80°C until they are ready to be delivered
- Automated sample retrieval pre-sorted racks of up to 96 tubes can be dispensed in under 3 minutes. Individual microtubes can be cherry-picked and delivered from store within 60 seconds. Speeds are up to 450 vials / hour!
- Sample integrity samples are stored in dry air or nitrogen in a hermetically sealed environment
- Small footprint 0.8m x 1.3m – Up to 7-fold greater storage density compared to equivalent systems.
- Expandability modular design enables easy expansion with growing repository requirements
- Flexibility the self-contained units can be located anywhere and simply relocated
Applications
arktic is suited to the storage and processing of samples such as:
- Purified DNA
- RT-PCR primers
- Proteins
- Antibodies
- Biological and chemical reagents
- Solubilised chemical compounds in DMSO and water
arktic vs. Traditional Freezers for Storage of Biological Materials
| Issue | Traditional Freezer Storage | Arktic Automated Biostorage |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of Staff Time | When accessing traditional freezer storage, staff can spend valuable hours sifting through the freezer contents to find the samples that they need. On average, manual picking takes approximately 2 hours to retrieve 96 samples. | Give Arktic a .csv file of the samples you need and they will be delivered at a time that you specify. With Arktic, 96 samples are retrieved in less than 5 minutes and the system works 24/7. |
| Temperature Control | Accessing traditional freezers can mean that the doors are open for a long period of time and some racks can be placed at room temperature for some time while individual tubes are identified and removed. | By retrieving only the sample that you need, Arktic maintains a constant temperature at all times. |
| Human Error - Hardware | If a sample has been stored in an incorrect slot in a traditional freezer, staff can spend additional hours locating that sample. | Arktic uses 2D barcode tracking to identify and track sample locations, ensuring error-free runs. |
| Human Error - Software | Traditional freezer systems rely on the user keeping track of sample locations – if a location is recorded incorrectly, then that sample may remain lost. | Arktic keeps track of all sample locations for you. |
| Unnecessary Freeze/Thaw Cycles | With traditional freezer storage, entire racks are handled by staff for a period of time, meaning that those samples within the rack are undergoing some thawing while the required samples are accessed. | Arktic does not store racks, it stores individual tubes. As a result, only the tube that you need is delivered and thawed. |
| Multiple Storage Formats and Hand-Written Labels | Traditional freezer storage is usually populated with multiple storage formats and handwritten labels. With unmatched storage formats, downstream processing can be time-consuming. In addition, hand-written labels can lead to misidentification of samples. | Arktic uses 2D-barcoded tubes, resulting in standardised workflows and consumables. |
