Researchers in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago, New Zealand, are focused on understanding the mechanisms and clinical consequences of drug-resistant viruses, as well as performing antiviral drug discovery.
The group is using INTEGRA’s ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot and VOYAGER adjustable tip-spacing pipettes to streamline a number of its workflows. Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu, Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, and principal investigator of the group, explained: “We’re mainly interested in the properties of drug-resistant viruses – such as transmission and pathogenicity – and applying this research to the evaluation of novel drug strategies aiming to eradicate HIV infections”
“I heard about INTEGRA from a colleague and he suggested the ASSIST PLUS pipetting robot because of its flexibility, small footprint and low cost compared to traditional robots. Instead of needing a number of expensive, task-designated instruments, the ASSIST PLUS could do all of the things I needed, and at a fraction of the cost.
“I frequently use the VOYAGER pipettes on their own for liquid transfers – such as RNA samples – from tubes to 96- or 384-well plates, and we are able to mount the VOYAGER onto the ASSIST PLUS to automate our drug discovery workflows and a host of other activities. For instance, the platform has been used to automate an entire metagenomics workflow for isolating DNA and RNA from penguin samples, including a magnetic bead-based purification workflow. It really is so versatile. I’m going from dispensing cells and drugs to automating workflows for penguin samples – it’s just amazing!”