Auto Droplet Generator

The Diabetes Molecular Genetics Section of the Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) studies pancreatic islet organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate molecular pathways associated with type 2 diabetes. The laboratory recently acquired a QX600 Droplet Digital Polymerase Chain Reaction system to generate cell type-specific gene expression data, perform methylation analysis for epigenomic studies, and estimate pancreatic islet composition using cell type-specific marker genes.

Currently, the laboratory uses a Manual Droplet Generator to prepare samples for droplet digital polymerase chain reaction analysis. Although the system can process up to eight samples at a time, preparation of a full 96-well plate is time-consuming and relies heavily on manual pipetting.

The Auto Droplet Generator shall automate droplet generation for droplet digital polymerase chain reaction workflows, reduce hands-on processing time, and improve throughput and consistency across experiments involving pancreatic islets and islet organoids.