Plant grinding and preparation system

System Overview.

In 2014 Labman installed three systems at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University.

Cryogenic Biomass Grinding and Dispensing System

The cryogenic grinder system is an automated plant sample grinding and dispensing system that is built around a chest freezer which maintains an operating temperature of -60°C. The system is used to grind plant samples into a fine powder which is then dispensed to a configured number of output vials.

Room Temperature Biomass Grinding and Dispensing System

The room temperature grinder system performs the same grind and dispense process as the cryogenic grinder system. However, all actions are performed at room temperature.

Sample Extraction System

The sample extraction system is used to perform a number of operations on pre-ground plant samples that are output from one of the Labman grinder systems. The system contains a number of modules that are driven using a flexible protocol editor allowing the system to adapt easily to different requirements and research direction.

This equipment is operated 24/7 greatly increasing our capacity, reducing operator error and overcoming major bottlenecks in sample processing. We generate large numbers of samples in our breeding programmes which we characterise for chemical composition, digestibility and gene expression. The cryogrinder enables us to process frozen material for RNA/DNA and enzyme extraction. Our liquid handling station is versatile and we can carry out a range of procedures which is greatly facilitated by the ‘user-friendly’ software.