TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

COPAS instruments automate the analysis, sorting, and dispensing of "large" objects such as viable small model organisms, seeds, beads, and particles, measuring the object size, optical density, and the intensity of fluorescent markers. Once analyzed, objects are sorted according to user selectable criteria, and then may be dispensed into stationary bulk receptacles or multi-well microtiter plates for high throughput screening. COPAS instruments have been proven to analyze and sort large objects with a higher speed and precision than present manual techniques. By automating the current, time consuming manual processes, the time required for experiments is dramatically reduced, human error is eliminated, and new experiments that previously could not be considered are now possible.

The COPAS platform was initially developed to replace manual sorting of the multicellular model organism, C. elegans (nematodes). As needs have been identified, Union Biometrica has expanded the COPAS instrument line to accommodate larger organisms including Drosophila (fruit fly), D. rerio (zebrafish) embryos and Arabidopsis seeds, as well as particles such as combinatorial chemistry beads used in compound libraries. The COPAS platform handles objects ranging from 20 - 1,500 microns with four (4) different models, each featuring a specially engineered fluidic path and flow cell optimized for a subset of the range.

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