The SEBS Biorobotics Facility in Foran Hall was built in 2001 by Dr. Gerben Zylstra with funding from the Commission on Higher Education, the Reinvest in Rutgers Program, and equipment contributions from New Jersey Industry (Johnson & Johnson and the Aventis Corporation). The high throughput laboratory contains four Beckman Biomek 2000 and one Biomek FX workstations. Three Biomek 2000 workstations operate as standalone instruments. One Biomek 2000 and the Biomek FX are equipped with the Sagian rail based robotic arm. Ancillary equipment integrated into the latter high throughput system includes plate readers (absorbance, fluorescence, and luminescence), a plate incubator, a plate shaker, and a carousel for microtitre plates. Also available is a Genetix Q-Pix robot capable of picking 3,000 colonies per hour from petri dishes into microtitre plates. The Q-Pix can also be used to array colonies or DNA onto filters for hybridization experiments. Samples are routinely prepared and analyzed for Rutgers researchers and courses, other academic institutions, and various corporations. The undergraduate course Biotech Robotics 11:126:484 is offered in the Fall Term every year by Dr. Zylstra.

Contact Information

Biorobotics Facility Director: Dr. Gerben J. Zylstra
zylstra@aesop.rutgers.edu or (732) 932-8165 x320

Biorobotics Facility Manager: Michael Murillo
murillo@aesop.rutgers.edu or (732) 932-8165 x172