instrumentONE

The High-Speed Production System

instrumentONE

The iONE is our ultra-fast, high-precision microdispensing instrument, and it's designed for high-production capacities. Customizable to individual applications, it offers a spacious working area of 600 mm or 1200 mm by 320 mm. A result of decades of M2-Automation's commitment to excellence and expertise, the iONE delivers highly accurate, ultra-low-volume dispensing results through high-precision linear drives for all three axes.

Among our Microarray Spotters, the iONE offers the most options to cater to your individual production needs, and all M2-Automation Microdispensers can be accommodated in this high-throughput micro-arrayer. This eliminates the need for an additional instrument when working with picoliter, nanoliter and small microliter volumes in different applications, and on different materials.

Key Features

  • Supports all dispenser types
  • Built-in Windows PC
  • Humidity control, particle-free
  • Washing and drying station
  • Head camera for in-line QC
  • 2D or 3D droplet imaging
  • Ultrasonic wash station
  • Cooling/heating of source and target
  • HEPA filter system with flow control
  • De-ionizer
  • Vacuum table
  • Tray system for custom targets
  • Orbital shaker for source plates
  • On-the-fly dispensing
  • Analytical balance for volume control

Two Sizes

The iONE series is available in two different sizes.
It is a fully customizable system that can be tailored to suit your exact needs. It can be upgraded to a fully automated production system of the highest performance.

  • iONE-600 featuring a working area of 600 x 320 mm.
  • iONE-1200 featuring a working area of 1200 x 320 mm.

These are the systems with the biggest deck space for large-scale production.

The Key: An Ultra-Fast Z-Axis

Spotting microarrays into MTP's involves a lot of Z-moves (up and down). Therefore, besides achieving high precision, the speed and acceleration of the Z-axis is very important in order to reach a high output. With our linear Z-drive that has an acceleration of up to 10 m/s² and a speed of up to 1m/s, Z-moves are no longer a limiting factor.

The speed is unparalleled, setting a remarkable standard in our industry.

More detailed videos on printing microarrays in MTPs and why this is a very good idea.

Descrete Slide Holder

This special vacuum-table with our unique single-slide-alignment ensures micrometer-level accuracy, empowering high-precision microarray manufacturing for your production needs.

Not only for microscope slides, this customizable target holder secures all kinds of targets by creating negative pressure beneath them.

Due to the highly accurate hardware alignment for each of the single targets, there is no need for fiducial recognition, saving valuable production time.

Vacuum Table

The vacuum table is a flexible holder for all kinds of flat substrates of different sizes and shapes, which are held in place by negative pressure below the substrate.

With a maximum capacity of 176 glass slides, it is the most effective utilization of the available deck space.

  • Printing on 3 silicon wafers 12"
  • Printing on a variety of microfluidic cartridges
  • Printing on membranes

 

MTP – Microtiter Plate

A lot of space for your innovative application:

  • The iONE-1200 can hold a total of 24 MTPs.
  • The iONE-600 can hold a total of 12 MTPs.

Due to highly flexible software, all MTPs can be configured as source or target to get the most of your valuable deck space.

In order to keep the printed microarray visible for the subsequent QC, the bottom of the MTPs can be dew-point controlled.
 

Customer-Specific Target Layout

If your applications require an individual, non-standard target layout, then the iONE is the instrument for you. Each setup can be customized to your individual application requirements, whilst still offering flexibility and reproducibility, all in one tailor-made solution.

See the example shown here in the picture that features our iONE-600. The vacuum table, which is also coolable, has been manufactured with the highest precision. It provides space for up to 12 x 4" silicon wafers, which are precisely aligned and held in place by negative pressure, and onto which at least 20,000 spots can be placed.

Tray System

Equipping a microarray spotter with a tray system is a significant step in scaling up. It’s an excellent choice to enhance the production capacity of biosensors, lab-on-chip applications, or any other product that requires precise picoliter or nanoliter dispensing.

Further advantages when combining a tray system with our iONE:

  • Elimination of the risk of cross-contamination when using a bulk dispenser for each sample per iONE unit
  • Removal of time-consuming processes of washing and sample aspiration from the process, resulting in highly efficient production

Source-Area Options

The source area of an iONE can be equipped with a variety of functional components such as:

  • Ultrasonic bath
  • Inflight 3D droplet control
  • High precision analytical balance
  • Additional pin wash
  • Drying station

 

Technical Data

Printable Area
x 500 or 1100 mm
y 320 mm

Travel Range
x 600 or 1200 mm
y 320 mm
z 44 mm

Dimensions
w 150 or 200 cm
d 80 cm
h 180 cm

Weight
250 kg

Axis Speed
x 1000 mm/s
y 1000 mm/s
z 1000 mm/s

Acceleration
x 10000 mm/s2
y 10000 mm/s2
z 10000 mm/s2

Axis Resolution
1 µm

Position Repeatability
+- 3 µm

Source Formats:
96-, 384-, 1536-MTP
3x8-well stripes (well volume 200 μL)
5x13-well chip (well volume 100 μL)
Reagent vials of 0.5 to 1.5 ml

Target:
MTP target holder for up to 22 MTPs
Vacuum table for up to 176 slides or 1100x320 mm
Planar target holder for up to 176 slides or 1100x320 mm
Your customized target holder or tray system