Automation Consumables for Automated Laboratory Workflows

Automation consumables are the liquid-contact single-use plasticware components designed to ANSI/SLAS dimensional standards for reliable, robot-repeatable handling on automated liquid-handling platforms — including instrument-specific robotic pipette tips (Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman Coulter Biomek, PerkinElmer JANUS), deep-well plates, reagent reservoir plates, and sealing mats. Tight dimensional tolerances (typically ±0.1 mm on critical features), conductive tip options for liquid-level detection, and purity certifications (DNase-free, RNase-free, non-pyrogenic, endotoxin-free) are the defining quality requirements.

MBP Inc. stocks Nest Scientific automation consumables for Hamilton, Tecan, and Beckman platforms, with PO and bulk-case pricing for high-throughput labs across the USA and Canada. Contact customerservice@mbpinc.net to request a quote today!

Automation Consumables

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What Are Automation Consumables?

Automation consumables are plasticware items engineered to the tight tolerances required for consistent, unattended operation on robotic liquid-handling systems. Unlike manual-use consumables, automation consumables require tighter moulding tolerances, consistent tip-collar geometry for reproducible robotic tip pick-up and ejection, and barcode compatibility for LIMS-integrated workflows. Automation consumables are not interchangeable with manual-use plasticware — tip geometry and dimensional tolerance requirements differ, and substituting manual tips in robotic tip seats causes pick-up failures and run aborts.

What you will find:

Robotic Pipette Tips – Precision-molded for high-speed and accurate liquid dispensing.
Filter Tips – Specialized barriers to eliminate aerosol cross-contamination.
Conductive Tips – Advanced engineering for reliable liquid level sensing.
System-Specific Tips – High-compatibility designs for Agilent, Tecan, Hamilton, and AutoMATE.
Clear & Sterile Options – Medical-grade, contamination-free builds for demanding diagnostic runs.
Racked Consumables – Ready-to-use formats for seamless integration into automated workflows.

How to Choose Automation Consumables

Instrument-Specific vs Universal Robotic Tips
Robotic pipette tips are typically instrument-specific: Hamilton STAR uses Hamilton CO-RE tips; Tecan Freedom EVO uses Tecan Te-PS tips; Beckman Coulter Biomek uses Beckman-specific tips. Third-party compatible robotic tips from Nest Scientific and equivalent manufacturers provide equivalent dimensional tolerances at lower cost and are certified DNase/RNase-free. Conductive robotic tips (carbon-doped polypropylene) are required on instruments using capacitive liquid-level detection (Hamilton CO-RE cLLD, Tecan cLLD) to confirm tip immersion depth.

Deep-Well Plates
Standard automation deep-well plates are 96-well, 2 mL per well (round- or square-bottom) in polypropylene, ANSI/SLAS footprint, with a fully skirted base for robotic gripper handling. Square-well formats maximise working volume and are preferred for DNA/RNA extraction automation. Round-bottom wells facilitate pipette tip access to the well base and pellet resuspension.

Reagent Reservoir Plates
Reagent reservoirs supply bulk reagent to the robotic arm in a format sized for 8-channel, 12-channel, or 96-channel head aspirations. Single-well troughs (290 mL) supply volumes for large-scale reagent additions. 12-channel troughs (22 mL per channel) and 8-channel troughs (32 mL) allow different reagents in adjacent channels for parallel dispensing. Confirm reservoir dead volume against your platform's minimum aspiration height specification.

Sealing Mats
Pierceable aluminium foil seals protect samples during processing and allow robotic needle or tip-based piercing for closed-tube aspiration. Silicone sealing mats provide resealable access to individual wells for sequential robotic access without contamination of adjacent wells.

Specifications Context

Automation consumables from Nest Scientific conform to ANSI/SLAS 1-4:2004 footprint and well-position standards. Conductive robotic tips use carbon-doped polypropylene with surface resistivity in the 10²–10⁶ Ω range for reliable capacitive liquid-level detection. All Nest Scientific automation consumables are certified DNase-free, RNase-free, non-pyrogenic, and endotoxin-free under ISO-certified cleanroom production. Hamilton STAR, Tecan Freedom EVO, Beckman Coulter Biomek i-Series, and PerkinElmer JANUS remain the dominant liquid handling automation platforms in North American research labs.

Bring precision and speed to every run—Contact MBP today to find the best fit for your automation needs.

FAQ

Automation consumables are plasticware items moulded to tighter dimensional tolerances (typically ±0.1 mm on critical features) for consistent robotic tip pick-up, ejection, and plate handling on automated liquid-handling systems. They conform to ANSI/SLAS footprint standards and include robotic pipette tips, deep-well plates, reagent reservoirs, and sealing mats. Manual-use plasticware does not meet the precision required for automated workflows.

Robotic pipette tips are typically instrument-specific in their collar geometry and fit. Hamilton STAR uses CO-RE tips; Tecan Freedom EVO uses Te-PS tips; Beckman Coulter Biomek uses its own tip format. Third-party automation tips from Nest Scientific are available in platform-specific geometries and provide equivalent dimensional tolerances at lower cost than OEM tips.

Conductive robotic tips are moulded from carbon-doped polypropylene with surface resistivity of 10²–10⁶ Ω, enabling capacitive liquid-level detection (cLLD) on systems such as Hamilton CO-RE cLLD and Tecan cLLD. cLLD detects tip immersion depth by measuring the capacitance change as the tip contacts liquid, preventing short aspirations and foam detection errors. Standard non-conductive tips cannot be used with cLLD systems.

Standard automation deep-well plates are 96-well, 2 mL per well, polypropylene, in fully-skirted ANSI/SLAS footprint format. Square-well formats maximise working volume and are preferred for nucleic acid extraction automation. Round-bottom wells facilitate resuspension and complete tip access to the well base. 384-well deep-well plates are available for high-density applications.

A standard single-well reagent reservoir (single trough) holds approximately 290 mL total volume with a typical working volume of 20–250 mL depending on the aspiration height specification of the robotic platform. Nest Scientific 12-channel trough reservoirs hold 22 mL per channel; 8-channel trough reservoirs hold 32 mL per channel.

Dead volume is the liquid remaining in a reservoir below the robotic arm's minimum aspiration height — it cannot be aspirated and is wasted. For expensive reagents or precious samples, low dead-volume reservoir designs reduce the required overfill volume. Confirm the reservoir's dead volume against your platform's minimum aspiration height specification when planning reagent volumes for long automation runs.

Automation consumables conform to ANSI/SLAS 1-4:2004 standards, which specify footprint dimensions (127.76 × 85.47 mm for 96-well and 384-well formats), well position coordinates, and well-to-well spacing. Plasticware conforming to this standard is interoperable across robotic platforms from Hamilton, Tecan, Beckman Coulter, and PerkinElmer without adapters.

Nest Scientific automation consumables including deep-well plates, reservoir plates, and robotic tips are certified DNase-free, RNase-free, non-pyrogenic, and endotoxin-free per lot under ISO-certified cleanroom production. These certifications are essential for automation workflows involving nucleic acid extraction, library preparation, and PCR setup.

Sealing options for automation deep-well plates include pierceable aluminium foil seals (for robotic needle or tip-piercing access in closed-tube workflows), silicone sealing mats (resealable, for sequential robotic access to individual wells), and adhesive PCR films (for thermal sealing before downstream PCR on extracted samples). Match the sealing format to the next downstream operation in the automated workflow.

MBP Inc. stocks Nest Scientific automation consumables compatible with Hamilton STAR, Tecan Freedom EVO, Beckman Coulter Biomek, and PerkinElmer JANUS platforms, including conductive and standard robotic tips, deep-well plates, and reagent reservoirs. Bulk case pricing and PO purchasing are available; MBP is a registered vendor at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Vanderbilt University.

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