Replicator Strips are used to transfer liquid from a single row or column of wells of a microplate to a gel, a glass slide, membrane or another microplate for serial dilutions.  They are ideal for transferring from 5 ul to 20 nl of liquid. We offer strips with 8 and 12 pins on 9 mm centers for 96 well microplates and 16 and 24 pins on 4.5 mm centers for 384 well microplates.  Like our Replicators the Replicator Strips can be fitted with solid or slotted pins of different diameters and lengths.  Furthermore the pins can be fixed in the strip or floated for use on work stations.  The diameter of the pin and or the volume of the slot will determine the volume of liquid that is transferred.  This gives you great flexibility in determining the manner and volume of liquid transferred.

Some of our customers use the Robotic Floating Pin replicators to do inexpensive "proof of principle tests" before buying a 96, 384 or 1536 pin tool.    By purchasing a VP 540FP3  pin Replicator Strip model you can test not only FP3 pins but also the smaller diameter  FP1, FP9 slotted FP1 or FP3 pins or hydrophobic coated pins.    Just "Duct Tape" the Replicator Strip to your robot head and you are ready to test.   Once you have your results just purchase the appropriate replicator.

Note that several robots have limited "Z" clearance and may not be suitable for use with the Replicator strips and their mounting systems.   Please check your robots "Z" clearance prior to ordering. 

Select the Replicator Strip for Your Application

You determine what volume of liquid you want to transfer, which microplate format you will be working with, the depth of the well and whether you will use manual or robotic handling.  Many of the Replicator Strips are mounted in anodized aluminum and can be quickly sterilized by alcohol flaming or autoclaving.  Some of our Floating Pin Replicators and the P1 and P3 pin Replicator Strips are constructed with Delrin and can be chemically sterilized with a 5% bleach solution.

We have also made custom Replicator Strips that combine two rows or 2 columns of fixed pins.  Our Floating Replicator Strips with 2 or 4 rows are also used to make microarrays on glass slides see our Glass Slide Arrayer page.

If you are transferring DNA, cDNA or other materials in hydrophobic solutions you will find that using our new V&P Pin Cleaning Solution will greatly increase the precision of delivery.  For an explanation see the FAQ page and the V&P Pin Cleaning Solution page.

1.58 mm Diameter Pin 22, mm Long

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

1.58 mm Diameter Pin, 57 mm Long

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

0.78 mm Diameter Pin (P3)

Non-Flammable and Non-Autoclaveable Delrin Frame

0.457 mm Diameter Pin (P1)

Non-Flammable and Non-Autoclaveable Delrin Frame

1.58mm Diameter Pin

Non-Flammable and Non-Autoclaveable Delrin Frame

Aluminum Frame Non-Flammable but  Autoclaveable

We have developed methods to fixture very small diameter pins in tubing so they can be safely handled to deliver nanoliter volumes of liquid to glass slides, plastic surfaces, nylon membranes or other microplates.  The 0.457 mm diameter pin shown above will provide a liquid to liquid transfer of ~20 nl while the 0.228 mm diameter pin will provide a liquid to liquid transfer of ~2 nl in a hanging drop and 4 nl in a liquid to liquid transfer.  We also offer 0.787 mm diameter pins which will provide a liquid to liquid transfer of ~ 80 nl.  Mounting in the tubing through 2 separate float plates also has the advantage of providing a longer axial distance so there will be less "wobble" in pin placement thereby increasing placement accuracy.  Placement accuracy is important in making high density arrays but is not as important in liquid to liquid transfers. 

Thus for an inexpensive "Proof of Principle test" in liquid to liquid transfers before buying a 96, 384 or 1536 pin tool, we recommend you purchase a VP 450FP3 as a testing bed and then purchase individual FP1, FP9 slotted FP1 or FP3 pins or hydrophobic coated pins  and change them yourself as an inexpensive way to determine which pin is best for your application.  Just "Duct Tape" the Replicator Strip to your robot head and you are ready to test.  Once you have your results you will know which replicator to purchase

"Y" AXIS MOUNTING PLATES

Mounting Plates to precisely attach the Replicator Strip on the "Y" axis to a robot are also available and highly recommended if you are using 1,536 well microplates.  This simple VP 452MP plate has 2 dowel pin holes for precise registration and a threaded hole to attach any floating 8 or 16 pin replicator strip to any of our Robot mounting plates.

Note that several robots have limited "Z" clearance and may not be suitable for use with the Replicator strips and their mounting systems.  Your robot system will need 115 mm of clearance to the top of the robot mounting plate.  Please check your robots "Z" clearance prior to ordering.

Attaching the VP 452MP to the robot mounting plate is as simple as placing two screws through the BMP mounting plate into the threaded holes on the VP 452MP.

Attaching the Replicator Strip to the VP 452MP is done by registering the dowel pins and dowel pin holes and then fixing the position by tightening one screw.

"X" AXIS MOUNTING PLATES

Note that several robots have limited "Z" clearance and may not be suitable for use with the Replicator strips and their mounting systems.  Your robot system will need 115 mm of clearance to the top of the robot mounting plate.  Please check your robots "Z" clearance prior to ordering.

0.78 mm DIAMETER PIN (P3)

Aluminum Frame Non-Flammable but  Autoclaveable

0.457 mm DIAMETER PIN (FP1)

Aluminum Frame Non-Flammable but  Autoclaveable

0.5 ul FLOATING E-CLIP SLOT PINS 1.58 mm DIAMETER PIN

Non-Flammable  Non-Autoclaveable Delrin

1 ul FLOATING E-CLIP SLOT PINS 1.58 mm DIAMETER PIN

Non-Flammable  Non-Autoclaveable Delrin

2 ul FLOATING E-CLIP SLOT PINS 1.58 mm DIAMETER PIN

Non-Flammable  Non-Autoclaveable Delrin

5 ul FLOATING E-CLIP SLOT PINS 1.58 mm DIAMETER PIN

Non-Flammable  Non-Autoclaveable Delrin

0.5 ul Slot Pins 22 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

0.5 ul Slot Pins 45 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

1 ul Slot Pins 22 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

1 ul Slot Pins 45 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

2 ul Slot Pins 22 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

2 ul Slot Pins 45 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

5 ul Slot Pins 22 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

5 ul Slot Pins 45 mm LONG 1.58 mm Diameter Pin

Flammable and Autoclaveable Aluminum Frame

CUSTOM TUBE TYPE FLOATING SLOT PIN REPLICATOR STRIPS

If you have a special application we can make a custom slot pin Replicator Strip for you. The enlarged photographs below illustrate how small of slots we can make in tube type floating pins.

We suggest that you buy 3 other inexpensive items when you purchase a Replicator Strip that will make using the Replicator Strips safer and more reproducible.  The VP 420 is a Glass Alcohol Reservoir that is used in the sterilization of the Replicators by flaming.  Some labs use plastic reservoirs but if flaming alcohol drops into them the plastic burns too dumping flaming alcohol all over the counter.  The VP 425 is Pin Cleaning Brush that is used to kept the Replicator pins clean so they will carry the same amount of liquid each time.  VP 110 is a Pin Cleaning Solution that is used to clean and treat the pin tips when they can't be flamed.