EZ1 Advanced XL User Manual 11/2017
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Tray
The tray is located under the racks and collects any drops of liquid that may fall
Tray.
3.2.2
Pipettor head
The pipettor head is mounted above the worktable and moves in the Z-direction (i.e., up and down)
in order to reach the samples and reagents on the worktable. The worktable itself moves in the
Y-direction (i.e., front to back) in order to present different samples and reagents under the pipettor
head.
The pipettor head contains 14 high-precision syringe pumps that are connected to tip adapters that
can be attached to filter-tips. The syringe pumps operate simultaneously to allow aspiration or
dispensing of small volumes of liquid (50–1000 μl) via the filter-tips.
The pipettor head also contains a magnet whose distance from the attached filter-tips can be varied.
This feature allows the capture of magnetic particles that are present in the liquid aspirated into the
filter-tips.
Located behind the tip adapters is the piercing unit, a row of 14 metal spikes for puncturing the foil
that covers the reagent cartridges.
During operation, the piercing unit, controlled by the EZ1 Advanced XL, opens the reagent
cartridges. The pipettor head then automatically picks up filter-tips from the tip rack and performs
aspiration and dispensing operations at different locations on the worktable before ejecting the tips
back into the tip rack.
