Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Low-Volume Crystallization

By Drug Discovery Trends Editor | February 23, 2010

Dolomite, a world leader in microfluidic design and manufacture, has collaborated with Emerald BioSystems in the development of the Microcapillary Protein Crystallization System (MPCS) Plug Maker. The Plug Maker has just won a coveted “New Product Award” at LabAutomation 2010 (Palm Springs, CA). This novel touchscreen instrument enables low-volume crystallization (5-10 nL protein/experiment), for the production of diffraction-ready crystals with no wasted protein. The MPCS Plug Maker is ideal for applications such as ligand screening, hybrid screening and microfluidic seeding. The Plug Maker is a self-contained unit operated from a built-in touchscreen control unit, taking up less than two feet of bench width.

Dolomite carried out all elements of the Plug Maker system design and development (including concept generation, industrial design, hardware and software engineering, and manufacture), creating an easy-to-use system based on Emerald’s core science.  The Plug Maker automates well-validated Emerald technology, rapidly creating a series of 10nl plugs of protein and precipitant samples in a plastic CrystalCard, which are then allowed to crystallize. This revolutionary performance was made possible using Dolomite’s ultra-smooth pump technology, coupled with its world-beating expertise in microfluidics and engineering. Dolomite added further value by completing the entire instrument design (including a vision system, fully automated liquid handling system and touchscreen control software). The development took just 18 months from first concept to launch at LabAutomation.

Fine gradient optimization and sparse matrix screening can be performed simultaneously to identify optimal crystallization growth conditions. Experimental conditions are easily optimized with the ability to form on-chip gradients, with only 22 µl of protein needed. In addition, the ability to perform up to 800 experiments per chip maximizes throughput for a highly efficient workflow.

Lance Stewart, CEO, Emerald BioSystems commented, “Dolomite has delivered a world-class product in the Plug Maker. Using Dolomite’s microfluidic expertise, we have rapidly been able to take the product from initial concept and proof of principle to full instrument manufacture.” Dolomite is subsequently supplying manufactured units solely to Emerald BioSystems and has agreed to collaborate with them on any further developments to the instrument.

Dolomite


Filed Under: Drug Discovery

 

Related Articles Read More >

Lokavant’s Spectrum v15 uses AI to cut trial-feasibility modeling from weeks to minutes
Prime time for peptide-based drug discovery 
Why smaller, simpler molecular glues are gaining attention in drug discovery
Glass vial, pipette and woman scientist in laboratory for medical study, research or experiment. Test tube, dropper and professional female person with chemical liquid for pharmaceutical innovation
Unlocking ‘bench-to-bedside’ discoveries requires better data sharing and collaboration
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE