Automatic colony picker ROTOR+ PIXL®

for microplateshigh-throughput

Overview
ROTOR+ and PIXL® combine to automate precision colony transfer and picking for high‑throughput microbial agar workflows. The integrated solution accelerates replica plating, mating screens and colony picking while maintaining selection by morphology, size and colour.

Key benefits

• Automated high‑density colony transfer and picking when combining ROTOR+ with PIXL®.
• High throughput: replicate a 96‑well assay in under 25 seconds (agar).
• Wide organism compatibility: yeast, bacteria, fungi, algae and environmental isolates.
• Intuitive software with individual user logins, saved settings, templates and action logs for traceability.

Why screen on agar rather than liquid?
Screening on agar with ROTOR+ PIXL® enables faster, more scalable workflows for phenotypic and strain selection screens. Agar‑based replication significantly reduces time and consumable costs vs conventional 96‑well liquid screening, with platform‑level productivity gains (page references >60× reduction).

ROTOR+ workflow

• 1. Login — individual user accounts, saved preferences and action logs.
• 2. Create program — select protocols for array replication or mating workflows.
• 3. Select source plate — choose source format according to protocol.
• 4. Select target plate — define target and filter colonies by size, colour and shape.
• 5. Select repads — choose compatible pin pads per protocol.
• 6. Run — typical pinning times: agar→~25 s; agar→liquid→~28 s.

PIXL workflow

• 1. Login — individual user accounts and preferences.
• 2. Select the plate — Petri or PlusPlate; whole plate or defined sectors.
• 3. Choose colonies — automated detection and selection; filter by morphology, size and colour.
• 4. Select the target plate — configure replicates, densities and spatial patterns.
• 5. Pick colonies — pick defined numbers at any density to agar or liquid.
• 6. Export data — review workflow, estimated time and plate count; export logs and protocol details.

Performance & usability
ROTOR+ PIXL® is designed for rapid adoption: operators can run standard workflows in under 10 minutes without specialist training. Typical agar replication times and automated colony selection deliver major throughput and reproducibility improvements for HTS applications.

Applications
High‑throughput microbial workflows including colony transfer, replica plating, mating screens, colony picking and high‑density array manipulation for research, strain development and phenotypic screening.

Testimonials
“We have used ROTOR+ and PIXL® for six months; together they transformed our throughput and reproducibility.” — Prof. Kyle Lauersen, KAUST.

Technical specifications

• Commercial name: ROTOR+ PIXL®
• Typical replication speed: replicate a 96‑well assay in <25 seconds (agar)
• Pinning times: agar→agar ≈25 s; agar→liquid ≈28 s (example timings)
• Compatibility: yeast, bacteria, fungi, algae and diverse environmental isolates
• Software: user logins, templates, saved settings, program creation and exportable protocol/log data
• Colony selection: automated detection with filters for size, colour and shape; sector selection
• Throughput advantage: agar screening reduces time/cost vs 96‑well liquid workflows (page indicates >60× reduction)
• Usability: operable in under 10 minutes with no specialist training