Kingfisher Apex Instrument
Automated, high-throughput recovery of nucleic acid from complex samples

Boost your lab's productivity by reducing hands-on sample preparation time, reducing costs, and increasing throughput. Intuitive to operate and pre-loaded with protocols, the KingFisher instruments offers automated magnetic bead-based sample preparation for DNA and RNA. Effective bead collection and transfer leads to superior washing, efficient elution, and rapid processing, delivering reliable high recovery and consistent performance across a range of complex samples.

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Work toward higher productivity and greater consistency for bioproduction contaminant and impurity testing with:

  • Automated sample prep processing
  • Up to 96 extractions in a single run
  • Minimal error with less hands-on time
  • Consistent and reliable data, day to day, month to month
  • Optimized protocols for Applied Biosystems PrepSEQ kits and resDNASEQ kits

KingFisher instrument

  

 

FlexApex

Instrument size

Benchtop

Benchtop

Throughput level

Medium to high

Medium to high

Processing volume range

  • 20–100 μL: 96-well PCR plate, skirted
  • 20–200 μL: 96-well plate
  • 50–1,000 μL: 96 deep-well plate
  • 15–1,000 μL: 96 deep-well plate
  • 15–200 μL: 96-well KingFisher standard plate
  • 10–80 μL: 96-well PCR plate
  • 30–200 μL: 96 storage tubes

Samples per run

96

96

Customizable protocols

Yes, with PC software

Yes, with touchscreen or PC software

Heating/cooling 

  • From 5°C above ambient temperature to 115°C
  • From 4°C above ambient temperature to 100°C
  • Cooling down to 4°C

Ultraviolet lamp

No

2 UV lamps, max 23 h 59 min

Size

68 x 60 x 38 cm; 26.77 x 23.6 x 14.96 in. (W x D x H)

78 x 59 x 45 cm; 31 x 23 x 18 in. (W x D x H)

Weight

28 kg; 62 lbs.

56 kg; 123 lbs.

The main differences are throughput, the number of samples per run, and the way the models handle the plates and process.

  • The KingFisher Flex (medium/high throughput), the standalone laboratory workhorse, processes up to 96 samples per run and is ideal for high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 testing

  • The KingFisher Apex is similar in specifications to the KingFisher Flex, but redesigned with additional capabilities for peak performance, adaptability, and usability such as a barcode scanner, a cooling block, and a UV decontamination lamp

  • One solution for DNA and protein impurity testing

    Ensuring the safety of biologic drugs requires rapid and accurate screening methods for in-process testing during manufacturing. Automated high-throughput approaches offer the advantage of processing many samples quickly and reliably. The use of functionalized magnetic beads to capture and purify analytes of interest allows for sensitive and selective detection of target compounds. This technology has been incorporated into industry-standard PrepSEQ, resDNASEQ, and ProteinSEQ kits and is easily adaptable to a 96-well plate format. For automated sample analysis, the KingFisher Sample Purification Instruments offer a platform fully integrated with real-time PCR to quantify a broad spectrum of bioproduction impurities and contaminants using these specialized sample preparation and quantitation kits.

    The KingFisher instruments, in combination with sample preparation and quantitation kits, can offer turnkey solutions that address critical customer needs for sensitivity, reliability, dynamic range, and automation in the screening of biologic drugs throughout the manufacturing process.

    In conjunction with PrepSEQ Residual DNA Sample Preparation Kits, the KingFisher instruments enable efficient extraction and superior purification of DNA and RNA from complex mixtures of proteins, buffers, and salts. The special formulation of the magnetic particles provided in the PrepSEQ kit facilitates highly efficient, specific recovery of DNA with no cross-reactivity to unrelated DNA.

    Move beads, not liquids, for purity and sample integrity

    Many automated liquid handling systems and purification instruments move reagents into and out of wells to perform the different steps of nucleic acid isolation. In contrast, Thermo Scientifc KingFisher Sample Purification Systems use permanent magnetic rods with disposable tip combs to collect beads from solution, then release them into successive wells, each containing reagents for the next step of isolation. This highly effective method of bead collection and transfer leads to clean extractions, efficient results, and preservation of sample. Using a simple process (bind, wash, elute), KingFisher instruments can automate the extraction of any analyte of interest that can be bound to a bead, even from challenging samples.

    Moving beads instead of liquids results in higher purity because no non-target organic matter or contaminants from liquid reagents are transferred from well to well. It also minimizes sample loss and results in higher yield since you can optimize your protocol so that no beads, with their target nucleic acids attached, are left behind in solution.

    Manual sample preparation and sample loss can introduce inconsistencies into samples, which show up in your data as outliers and wider error bars. High-end downstream applications such as qPCR, NGS, digital PCR, and mass spectrometry can be very sensitive to these inconsistencies. KingFisher instruments reduce user processing errors while increasing the reproducibility of your results. Our data show that samples processed with KingFisher instruments have consistent results across different runs and different users.

    The KingFisher instruments, in combination with sample preparation and quantitation kits, can offer turnkey solutions that address critical customer needs for sensitivity, reliability, dynamic range, and automation in the screening of biologic drugs throughout the manufacturing process.

    In conjunction with PrepSEQ Residual DNA Sample Preparation Kits, the KingFisher instruments enable efficient extraction and superior purification of DNA and RNA from complex mixtures of proteins, buffers, and salts. The special formulation of the magnetic particles provided in the PrepSEQ kit facilitates highly efficient, specific recovery of DNA with no cross-reactivity to unrelated DNA.

    Move beads, not liquids, for purity and sample integrity

    Many automated liquid handling systems and purification instruments move reagents into and out of wells to perform the different steps of nucleic acid isolation. In contrast, Thermo Scientifc KingFisher Sample Purification Systems use permanent magnetic rods with disposable tip combs to collect beads from solution, then release them into successive wells, each containing reagents for the next step of isolation. This highly effective method of bead collection and transfer leads to clean extractions, efficient results, and preservation of sample. Using a simple process (bind, wash, elute), KingFisher instruments can automate the extraction of any analyte of interest that can be bound to a bead, even from challenging samples.

    Moving beads instead of liquids results in higher purity because no non-target organic matter or contaminants from liquid reagents are transferred from well to well. It also minimizes sample loss and results in higher yield since you can optimize your protocol so that no beads, with their target nucleic acids attached, are left behind in solution.

    Manual sample preparation and sample loss can introduce inconsistencies into samples, which show up in your data as outliers and wider error bars. High-end downstream applications such as qPCR, NGS, digital PCR, and mass spectrometry can be very sensitive to these inconsistencies. KingFisher instruments reduce user processing errors while increasing the reproducibility of your results. Our data show that samples processed with KingFisher instruments have consistent results across different runs and different users.

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