EVE: A liquid handling robot based on LEGO Mindstorms

Abstract

High throughput screening (HTS) has lead to a revolution in research laboratories due to the possibility of performing millions of tests very quickly. The rise of HTS was accompanied by the appearance of the market of liquid handling robots (LHRs), which intend to automatize the handling of samples in HTS procedures. However, commercial LHRs are a noticeable investment for many small biology laboratories. The objective of this project is to create, using LEGO Mindstorm, a low-cost LHR that is able to fill 96-well plates automatically. The robot, which we have called EVE, uses a single channel micropipette and avoids cross-contamination between wells by changing pipette tips during the plate-filling procedure. EVE’s design was created combining computational design with the physical assembly of the different robot parts. Additionally, two 3D printed bases were created to sustain all the different required elements for the robot function. Finally, EVE was coded to perform routines like copying a 96-well plate or performing a dilution. The software also includes a menu to calibrate the robot and select the desired routine to perform.