MANTIS^® Liquid Handler

MANTIS^®
Liquid Handler

Small, Versatile, Precise

More Than a Reagent Dispenser

While traditional hand-held pipettes, or larger automated liquid handlers greatly deteriorate in accuracy and precision below 2 µL volumes, the MANTIS® automated liquid handler prevails in Efficiency, Reproducibility and Versatility.

Broad Range of Applications

Assay Development and Design of Experiment (DoE)
Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) - Library Preparation
Polymerase Chain-reaction (PCR) Workflows - Real-time and Digital
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA)
Cell Culture and Bead-Based Assays

Benefits:

Efficient: Miniaturize reactions, scale-up through-put, save on reagents and remove pipette tip cost.
Reproducible: Dispense volumes down to 100nL at CV < 3%
Versatile: Easily dispense and normalize reagents and cell culture assays

Overview of the MANTIS^®

The MANTIS automated liquid handler is the easy and affordable solution to quickly increase the reproducibility and quality of your research as well as throughput and efficiency of your laboratory. The diaphragm-based chip design is liquid class compatible, easily dispensing aqueous and organic solutions. Additionally, the MANTIS will dispense in any SBS template from 6 to 1536 well plates, and can be easily programmed to dispense to custom designs as needed.

Key Features
High Precision Low Volume Dispensing Minimize Reagent Waste Speed and Throughput Import CSV Templates Integrate with External Systems	Micro-diaphragm Technology RFID Sample use tracking Small foot print Intuitive User Interface (UI) Reagent Compatible (Mastermix, beads, buffer 70% glycerol, DMSO, etc)

Key Features
High Precision Low Volume Dispensing Minimize Reagent Waste Speed and Throughput Import CSV Templates Integrate with External Systems	Micro-diaphragm Technology RFID Sample use tracking Small foot print Intuitive User Interface (UI) Reagent Compatible (Mastermix, beads, buffer 70% glycerol, DMSO, etc)

5 Reasons to Supplement Your Liquid Handling Platform

Enhance Laboratory Efficiency

Efficient research means that reagent dead volumes, tip consumption, and reaction volumes are minimized.

The MANTIS liquid handler dispenses volumes from 100 nL to 100s of mL allowing researchers to commonly run 2-5 µL reaction volumes in genomics and screening workflows.

To minimize dead volume, reagents plug directly into the microfluidic chip. Dead volumes are further reduced to just 6 μL by using pipette tips as reagent reservoirs, making the Mantis ideal for dispensing even the most precious reagents.

2 uL qPCR Reactions

¼ Volume Sequencing Reactions

What is “Reaction Miniturization”?

“[The MANTIS] allows for miniaturized assay development specially for when reagents are expensive and small quantity. user interface is relatively easy to use to program methods. reliable in terms of reproducibility of results “

Dave Solis

Pfizer

Normalize your assay plate, quickly and easily

Software calculates the normalization values.
The Continuous Flow (CF) chip bulk dispenses at >600 µL/sec, therefore, quickly normalizing each sample tube, well and plate

“… using MANTIS, I recently performed a high-throughput qPCR-based drug screen in stem cell derived retinal cells and acquired reliable data with homogeneity, precision, and faster dispensing. The instrument is user-friendly and has easily paid for itself in the savings associated with both expensive reagents and tip consumption in our lab. The MANTIS is an essential tool for any lab that wishes to perform the most efficient and reproducible genetic analysis”

Srinivas R. Sripathi

Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Highly Reproducible Data

Since liquid handling imprecision impacts experimental reproducibility, researchers consider CVs to be a vital factor when considering the automation of their research.

At the core of the MANTIS' microfluidic dispensing chip is a valve cluster that measures and dispenses discrete volumes of liquid. This valve cluster has two micro-diaphragms (select either 100 nL and 500 nL or 1 μL and 5 μL) that can fill and dispense as rapidly as 10 times per second.

Low Volume Chip	CV*
0.1 μL	1.4%
0.5 μL	0.5%
1 μL	0.4%

High Volume Chip	CV*
1 μL	0.8%
5 μL	1.1%
10 μL	0.5%
25 μL	0.4%

Continuous Flow Chip	CV*
25 μL	0.3%
50 μL	0.4%
100 μL	0.3%
200 μL	0.2%

* = The coefficient of variation (CV) is the average of three independent microfluidic Chip readings.

Volume Verification

How to perform an “In-House Verification”

What is “Positive Displacement Technology”?

"...[The Mantis liquid handler] helps us minimizes variation in sample prep. It is the most economical way to for us to reliably dispense sub-microliter volumes to each of our wells and help minimize our volumes..."

Ed Emmott

Northeastern University

Versatility for any and all labs

The MANTIS dispenses any reagent efficiently and reproducibly regardless of volume, viscosity, temperature, concentration, and research experience. It is no wonder that every year, more and more researchers discover and obtain the MANTIS for dispensing reagents as a part of their diverse set of scientific workflows.

NGS Sample Preparation

Miniaturize your cDNA synthesis and library preparation reactions, even with limited starting material.

Learn more

Cell-based Assays

Gentle and even distribution of suspension, adherent and 3D cell cultures

Learn more

Real-time and Digital PCR Workflows

Enhance the cost-effectiveness
of any qPCR plate preparation workflow.

Learn more

Assay Development and Optimization

Simplify the evolution from assay design to drug discovery.

Learn more

Thumbnail-Icon-LH-alphalisa-immunoassays

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA)

Maximize biomarker assay performance and minimize cost by reducing dead volume and reaction volumes without sacrificing the quality of experimental results.

Learn more

Resources

Application Notes

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler to Generate Joint Whole-Genome and mRNA Libraries in Single Cells With DNTR-seq

Direct Nuclear Tagmentation and RNA sequencing (DNTR-seq) is a method to jointly sequence genomic DNA and mRNA from the same single cell to determine the direct effect of genotype on phenotype. This application note illustrates how the MANTIS® liquid handler enables multiplex analysis and of both DNA and RNA libraries for 1500 cells in a day.

Tackling the Challenge of Limited Resources During a Pandemic

As laboratories around the world tackle the challenges of screening large numbers of samples for SARS-CoV-2, the managers of these labs have turned to the use of automation to address some key concerns. In this article read the stories from three laboratories who have utilized low-volume, non-contact dispensing technology to ensure continuity of their research and testing work, despite the scarcity of resources such as pipette tips and reagents.

Accurate dispensing of spike-in control RNA in a modular, high-throughput, and flexible diagnostic SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR workflow

Biogazelle is a contract research organization based in Belgium they specialize in high-value applications to support pharmaceutical research, clinical trials and diagnostic test development. Learn how the team at Biogazelle incorporated the MANTIS® liquid handler into a COVID-19 testing workflow.

Pushing the limits of single-cell RNA-seq with SMART-Seq^® Single Cell technology

The use of single-cell RNA sequencing has enabled the study of the transcription profiles of individual cells. This provides deeper insights into the conditions of health and disease. Due to the limited source material, it is necessary to use a preparation method with high sensitivity and reproducibility. This application note looks at the integration of the MANTIS® liquid handler from FORMULATRIX® into the SMART-Seq® Single Cell Kit from Takara Bio, enabling miniaturization to one-quarter of the original volume without loss of sensitivity.

The MANTIS enables highly reproducible results for high-throughput single-cell proteomic SCoPE2 analysis

High-throughput methods for studying heterogeneity in single-cells have focused on sequencing-based methods because of their accessibility and ease of multiplexing. Methods for single-cell proteomics were limited to the study of small numbers of proteins. Emerging methods for single-cell proteomics seek to permit the study of a large fraction of the proteome across hundreds to thousands of single-cells. The SCoPE2 (Single-Cell ProtEomics 2)1 method seeks to enable high-throughput single cell proteomics using accessible reagents and technology. This advance over SCoPE-MS2 allows SCoPE2 to decrease lysis volumes 10-fold, from 10 μL to 1 μL, to reduce the cost of consumables and equipment over 100-fold, and to increase throughput of sample preparation over 100-fold by parallel processing.

Using Contact Free Liquid Dispensing for High Throughput Covid-19 RT-qPCR Assays

Laboratories around the world are scaling up their Covid-19 diagnostics capabilities as the scientific community endeavors to test more and more individuals to help stem the spread of this pandemic. RT-qPCR is one of the methodologies chosen by laboratories due to its simplicity, sensitivity, and reliability. However, the increase in demand for testing has led to increased pressure on the supply chain of consumables such as pipette tips and PCR reagents, with many shortages reported. The researchers at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University have demonstrated how the MANTIS(R) liquid handler can replace the reagent addition steps in this workflow. Drastically reducing their pipette tip usage and enabling precise low-volume dispensing for effective assay miniaturization.

Also view the recorded webinar here.

Planning and Executing Massively Combinatorial Phenotypic Assays

Combinatorial screening is an efficient approach to identify optimized protocol conditions. Used to investigate multiple factors in parallel, it encompasses relatively simple experiments designed to assess how a handful of parameters impact a quantifiable metric such as bacterial growth, through to incredibly complex studies such as leave-one-out (L1O) and leave-two-out (L2O) media optimizations. Inevitably, as the number of factors being evaluated increases, planning and executing combinatorial screens becomes more challenging. It is here that advanced software systems and liquid handlers are essential to streamline combinatorial screening workflows and minimize the risk of error.

A Generalizable, Automated Process for Multifactorial Media Optimization

FORMULATRIX® and Synthace partner for A Generalisable, Automated Process For Multifactorial Media Optimisation, or Optimizing Design of Experiments (DoE). The work covers how the MANTIS® liquid handler creases workflows by improving speed and through-put, to produce accurate liquid dispensing capabilities. Additionally, the MANTIS was combined with Synthace's software platform Antha, to powerfully and rapidly perform 4 DoE iterations to optimise media conditions. This optimisation resulted in an 88% time saving compared to manual performance of the same experiment, as well as an overwhelming reduction in consumable usage.

Also view the recorded webinar here.

A cost benefit analysis of implementing low volume liquid handling automation in the development of new HTRF assays.

Developing an immunoassay is challenging. Obtaining a specific signal requires the right combination of sample and detection substrate.

Over the years Cisbio has developed hundreds of assays. In this application note we will show how the MANTIS® liquid handler, with its Large Capacity Chip Changer (LC3) accessory, helped us to improve our process on all of the following key points: reproducibility, time, cost, and reduction of musculoskeletal disorders.

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler to generate high quality single-cell RNA-seq data with Smart-seq3

In this application note, we will demonstrate the key steps where the MANTIS can be implemented in the library preparation workflow.

Utilising the MANTIS^® dispenser from FORMULATRIX^® for automated, reproducible HLA antibody screening in organ transplantation

The Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system is a gene complex in humans that encodes for histocompatibility proteins and are part of the adaptive immune system. Important in disease defence they also play a large role in organ transplants, a donor organ with HLA markers which more closely match those of the recipient will have a lower chance of being rejected than an organ with fewer matching alleles.

At the Laboratory of Medical Immunology (LMI) in Radboud University Medical Centre based in the city of Nijmegen in the Netherlands, sera from potential organ recipients must be screened for HLA specific antibodies at regular time intervals. Detection of antibodies directed against HLA is necessary to avoid hyperacute rejection of a donor organ.

In this investigation the MANTIS^® Dispenser from FORMULATRIX^® was used to complete a critical step in the HLA workflow; the addition of lymphocytes into prepared Terasaki trays.

Also view the virtual demo on the MANTIS, Why is the MANTIS is a good choice of instrument for labs performing Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) work

Miniaturization of Nextera XT Library Preparation for RNA-sequencing of Murine Neuronal Cell cDNA Samples using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler

This application note highlights a workflow for generating high-quality NGS libraries, even from low cellular input, through precise positive displacement microfluidic reagent dispensing.

Scaling up Organoid Cultures using MANTIS® Liquid Handler: A Case Study with MIT

Organoids allow researchers to study tissue biology with remarkable fidelity.

Development of An HTRF® Assay For The Detection of Hepatitis B Antigen

This presentation describes the development of an HTRF® assay for the detection of Hepatitis B “e” antigen (HBeAg) recombinant protein in partnership [between cisbio and] FORMULATRIX® using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler.

An Assessment of the Volumetric Performance of the MANTIS® Liquid Handler Using the Artel MVS® Multichannel Verification System

FORMULATRIX® and Artel present this application note in order to showcase the precision of the MANTIS® Liquid Handler, a novel solution designed to supplement traditional liquid handling platforms. By implementing the MANTIS, researchers can increase experimental reproducibility in genomics workflows that involve dispensing small volumes of valuable reagents with a high degree of precision.

Rapid, Accurate and Flexible DNA Quantitation Using the QuantiFluor® dsDNA System on the MANTIS® Liquid Handler

Fluorescent dye-based quantitation systems are recommended for advanced downstream applications because of their sensitivity, target selectivity, cost, and ease of use. The QuantiFluor® dsDNA System can be used for quantitating dsDNA in single tubes as well as 96- and 384-well plates. Accuracy during repetitive pipetting of small volumes can be difficult and labor intensive with many opportunities for error and costly re-work. The MANTIS® Liquid Handler is a novel bench-top liquid handler that can meet many requirements for high-throughput reagent dispensing at a fraction of the cost of larger systems. For nucleic acid quantitation, the MANTIS accurately dispenses small volumes of the QuantiFluor® Dye working solution for reproducible quantitation results. In this application note, we demonstrate the compatibility of the MANTIS to quickly and accurately automate reagent handling of the QuantiFluor® dsDNA System for both 96- and 384-well plate formats.

Cell dispensing in a high-content, primary neuron based, screening platform using the Mantis Liquid Handler

The Scripps Research Institute uses the Mantis as a precise, reliable, and robust solution for dispensing even the most sensitive primary neuronal cells in the generation of a high content screening platform.

Automated Processing of the GlobalFiler® Express PCR Amplification Kit With the Formulatrix Mantis

This application note describes the use of the Mantis to dispense the Global Filer® Express Kit master mix to the amplification plate with treated buccal punches present.

Application Posters

Implementing the Mantis microfluidic liquid handler as a tool for optimizing droplet digital PCR and other core lab functions.

The FORMULATRIX® MANTIS® microfluidic liquid handler was used at the core facility at Oregon State University to improve our workflows and facilitate research projects for others. The MANTIS dispensing system can be employed to set up complex dilution patterns which can be advantageous to development projects. The MANTIS has been utilized in a proof of concept project with our Bio-Rad Droplet Digital^TM PCR (ddPCR^TM) to determine its effectiveness in optimizing reaction primer and template concentrations in addition to employing adequate cleaning protocols for chip reuse.

Generalisable, automated Design of Experiments execution for multifactorial media optimisation

A generalisable DoE process combining the execution planning and data management capabilities of the Antha software (Synthace Ltd) with the high-speed, automated MANTIS® liquid dispenser (FORMULATRIX®). Specifically, the work demonstrates a 12-factor DoE to optimise growth media for the production of eGFP. The process demonstrated achieves better statistical significance in the respective experiments, fewer errors, more streamlined data processing, less hands-on time and greater speed to scientific insight.

Automation and Miniaturization of Low-Input RNA-SeqSample Prep Using Desktop Microfluidics

Miniaturization and scale-down of reagent and reaction volumes for low-inputRNA-Seq work flows enables researchers to work with low sample input and increased number sof samples. As the reaction volumes are reduced, accurate delivery of reagent volumes emerges as a critical step to maintain data quality and technical reproducibility.

We present results from miniaturization of the ClontechSMART-Seq® v4 Ultra® Low Input RNA Kit for Sequencing and Illumina Nextera® XT workflows for generation of high-qualityRNA-Seq samples using a compact desktop microfluidic dispensing technology.

High Throughput Large Scale Genotyping in Soybean Utilizing Novel Microfluidic Reagent Dispensing Technology

Recent advances in DNA marker/QTL (gene) discovery and marker detection technology have great impacts on crop improvement through marker-assisted selection. To discover and deploy the DNA markers in plant breeding programs, establishing low cost, high throughput, large scale and reliable and flexible marker genotyping platform is one of key factors. Implementing high-throughput workflows for SNP genotyping platforms such as TaqMan and KASP assays requires accurate dispensing of assay master mixes and reagents. Speed and accuracy are critical factors to achieve the desired assay performance while utilizing a workflow that minimizes reagent utilization to allow for large-scale studies.

Assuring Optimal Promega Assays Development by Design of Experiment Workflow and Mantis Dispenser

To facilitate assay development we employ a Design of Experiment approach during assay development. Design of Experiments (DoE) offers a systematic way of simultaneously evaluating multiple assay parameters and analyzing the resulting process outputs to optimize assay conditions with a minimum number of experiments

Webinars

Working With Difficult Reagents

In this online workshop, we will share examples of studies carried out by our end users that have been used to automate tasks that involve reagents and liquids that have traditionally been difficult to move satisfactorily from manual pipetting to automated liquid handlers. This includes extracellular matrices, solvents, beads, cells, and viscous liquids.

Click here to access the webinar recording

Using contact-free liquid dispensing for high throughput COVID QPCR assays

The global Covid 19 pandemic has led to unprecedented demand for scalable diagnostic tests, which in turn has led to supply shortages for reagents and consumables. QPCR is currently the method of choice for Covid diagnostics due to simplicity, reliability and versatility. However setting up many parallel QPCR assays, for example 384 PCR plates, requires automated liquid handlers to be able to reliably scale. Although conventional liquid handlers can perform this task they have a high consumable requirement in the form of disposable tips and under pandemic conditions supply chains are often unable to meet demand. Here we describe the use of the MANTIS liquid dispenser for contactless dispensing can greatly reducing consumable tip usage for Covid diagnostics, as well as being able to reliably miniaturise QPCR assays to reduce reagents consumption

Click here to access the webinar recording

Planning massively combinatorial phenotypic assays.

The complexity of combinatorial screens explodes as the number of reagents increases. This talk addresses the challenges of planning experiments with up to 50 individually dispensed ingredients per well. The heart of our system is a new software package that automates the planning of complex liquid handling operations. We demonstrate combinatorial assays on the MANTIS can detect metabolic interactions in bacteria with complex growth requirements.

Click here to access the webinar recording

MANTIS Demonstration - Utilising the MANTIS in the newly published SmartSeqv3 protocol for improved single-cell RNA Sequencing.

Michael Hagemann-Jensen from the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, will present insights into the newly published Smart-seq3 for single cell RNA analysis. We will demonstrate how the Mantis from Formulatrix can be used to automate steps in the protocol to reduce working volumes and lower costs.

Click here to access the webinar recording

A Generalisable, Automated Process For Multifactorial Media Optimisation

FORMULATRIX^® and Synthace partner to host a webinar to describe and explain the findings of their recent work. Our two key speakers were Dan Lord and Markus Gershater. Dan Lord, applications manager with FORMULATRIX, explained how the MANTIS^® can increase your workflow by improving your speed and through-put to produce accurate liquid dispensing capabilities. Also, Markus Gershater, CSO of Synthace, explained how Synthace's lab team had combined the MANTIS with Synthace's software platform Antha, to powerfully and rapidly perform 4 DoE iterations to optimise media. Achieving an 88% time saving compared to manual performance of the same experiment.

Click here to access the webinar recording

https://youtu.be/dOzx8GfDkk8

A Technique for Scalable Organoid Culture

Organoid models are promising tools for the study of disease and development of new therapeutics. However, conventional organoid plating is labor and reagent intensive. We will present on how we have applied the low-input MANTIS® to automate the plating of organoids, reducing requirements for expensive reagents, making organoid culture amenable to high-throughput applications.

Click Here to Download the Application Note

Webinar recorded July 10, 2019. "A Technique for Scalable Organoid Culture" Ben Mead.

Harnessing the Power of SMART-Seq v4

Magnolia Bostick compares sequencing data generated from full and quarter volume reactions prepared with the MANTIS® Liquid Handler.

Webinar recorded May 18, 2016. "Single-Cell RNA-Seq Optimization: Working Smarter with the Mantis." Part 2: Magnolia Bostick.

Optimizing Single-cell RNA-Sequencing Workflows

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler from FORMULATRIX, Nathan has been able to analyze enough single-cells to develop a methodology for characterizing 3' bias in RNA-seq libraries. In this webinar clip, Nathan explains that enzyme processivity impacts bias in characteristic and correctable ways. Further, Nathan considers automation, and provides overarching recommendations for Single-Cell RNA-sequencing experimental design.

Webinar recorded April 13, 2017. "Optimizing Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Workflows"" Part 3: Nathan Archer. PhD.

Monitoring CRISPR Gene Editing with RNA-Seq

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler from FORMULATRIX, Dario has been able to develop an efficient and reproducible method for miniaturized cDNA synthesis reactions using the Takara Bio SMART-Seq V4 Ultra Low Input RNA Kit. In this webinar clip, Dario explains how quarter volume cDNA synthesis reactions enable the use of RNA-seq as a general screening tool to monitor genome editing projects.

Webinar recorded April 13, 2017. "Optimizing Single-Cell RNA-Sequencing Workflows" Part 4: Dario Boffelli.

High-throughput Automation of Single-cell Library Prep

The New York Genome Center has implemented quality control approaches that include selective library preparation to enhance the efficiency of their miniaturized single-cell sequencing.

Webinar recorded May 18, 2016. "Single-Cell RNA-Seq Optimization: Working Smarter with the Mantis." Part 3: Rahul Satija.

Miniaturization of AlphaLISA® Immunoassays for HTS

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler from FORMULATRIX and the Echo® from Labcyte, Gene has developed an efficient approach to immunoassays that conserves both consumable tip and reagent consumption making high-throughput screening cost-effective, and therefore viable, in an academic setting. In this webinar clip, Gene explains how the Echo and MANTIS Liquid Handlers complement each other for sample and reagent transfers in the context of high-throughput screening.

Webinar recorded October 3, 2017. "Miniaturization of High-throughput Screens for Protein-protein Interactions" Part 3: Gene Ananiev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IeA0J7yp1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5kU07ovo

Optimizing High-Throughput qPCR Workflows

Using the MANTIS® Liquid Handler from FORMULATRIX® and the Echo® from Labcyte, Sri has increased his lab's throughput to a level sufficient for high content screening of drug candidates. In this webinar clip, Sri explains how the Echo and MANTIS Liquid Handlers complement each other for sample and reagent transfers in the context of high-throughput qPCR. Further, Sri considers the benefits of automation and provides overarching recommendations for qPCR experimental design.

Webinar recorded June 27, 2017. "Optimizing High-Throughput qPCR Workflows." Part 3: Sri Sripathi.

Specifications and Requirements

Computer Specifications

Microsoft Windows Vista, 7, 8, or 10; 32- or 64- bit
Dual Core x86 or x64 1.5 GHz processor
1 built-in USB port (USB 2.0 recommended, USB 3.0 supported)
4 GB RAM
1 GB Hard Drive space
768 pixels vertical minimum screen resolution (900+ pixels recommended)

Electrical Specifications

110 V - 240 V, 50 Hz - 60 Hz, 50 W typical, 150 W max. Standard or European outlet

Environmental Requirements

4-40 °C ambient temperature
85% or less relative humidity
4,000 m maximum altitude

MANTIS Physical Dimensions

Width: 350 mm or 13 25/32” (smaller without ACC or reagent holders)
Height: Full Extension: 232 mm or 9 9/64” (not including pipette tip input)
Height: No Extension: 192 mm or 7 9/16” (not including pipette tip input)
Depth: 212 mm or 8 11/32”
Weight: Approx. 5.2 kg (11.5 lbs)

LC3 Dimensions

Width: 240 mm or 9 29/64”
Height: Full Extension: 286 mm or 11 17/64”
Height: No Carousel: 200 mm or 7 7/8” (including RFID antenna)
Depth: 240 mm or 9 29/64”

MANTIS with LC3 Dimensions

Width: 491 mm or 19 21/64” (MANTIS with LC3)
Height: Full Extension: 286 mm or 11 17/64”
Depth: 240 mm or 9 29/64”

Testimonials

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Christopher Hubbs

Scripps Research Institute

“The Mantis reduces variability allowing for more efficient screen development”

Ed Emmott

Northeastern University