What is ADE?
Acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) uses the energy of a sound pulse to propel a precise and accurate droplet of liquid from a source reservoir onto a surface suspended above the source. This suspended surface can be a multi-well plate, a piece of glass or a tissue sample. The Echo® Liquid Handling Systems are designed to transfer liquids into microplates. The Portrait 630 is designed to transfer liquid onto tissue samples on MALDI targets. See Technology for additional technical detail. Nothing comes in physical contact with the fluid. The system uses no pipette tips, pin tools or nozzles. There is no chance of cross-contamination of samples, and the requirement for wash procedures is eliminated. ADE is a gentle process that can transfer proteins, nucleic acids, or live cells without damage or loss of viability. Labcyte has applied ADE to move drug compounds between multi-well microplates in our Echo liquid handler product line, and to deposit reagents onto tissue samples for MALDI tissue
