Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Unveils the EMnetik System as the Future of Simplicity in PCR Cleanup and Plasmid Prep

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences’ EMnetik System semi-automates workflows while shortening the time necessary to complete PCR cleanup by decades.

FREMONT, CA: Beckman Coulter Life Sciences introduces the EMnetik System, the industry's first significant workflow innovation in more than 30 years for plasmid prep and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cleanup. The EMnetik System semi-automates workflows while significantly reducing the time required to complete a PCR cleanup.

According to a recent study, 80 percent of PCR cleanup can be done with 50 touchpoints instead of 300. PCR cleanup is faster with this new device, and it's quicker for bead mixing and separation, too.

EMnetik 24 employs a magnetic bead-based cleanup device to clean nucleic acids in a stationary unit. It's an innovation that will be standard in laboratories soon. The instrument can process up to 24 samples at a time while maintaining a tiny form factor. The semi-automation of the cleanup procedure reduces the risk of errors.

“For early lab students, it can be a hard lesson learned to write on the vial, only to have the ethanol wash drastically smudge the writing,” says Dr. Brittany Niccum, Commercial Product Manager in the company’s Genomic Reagents Biotechnology Business Unit. 

“I remember as a young scientist the errors this created in my runs, and the frustrating time it added to the process. We’re excited to introduce this innovation and bring DNA cleanup into 21st century.”

With upgrades for synthetic and molecular biology industries, EMnetik's software system introduced a workflow for plasmid prep and PCR cleanup in 1991. Still, the EMnetik system delivers major updates in these areas. They've found their way into every laboratory where standard molecular biology procedures are performed. In the future, the EMnetik technology will be the standard for PCR cleanup simplification.

Customers praise the quick responsiveness and ease of operation when adding the instrument to their workflow. Joshua James, a Ph.D. student, comments, “We were most surprised with EMnetik's robustness. The device moved the beads to the side making it so easy to aspirate.”

Lab workers can learn more about the instrument and the new features by downloading the EMnetik 24 app that incorporates an augmented reality function.