The NT8 is a very versatile instrument that is fundamental to my research. It provides me with the flexibility to set up crystallisation plates as well aiding in the development of new methodologies. The low volume tips and its humidifier is a crucial aspect of the design that allows us to deal with highly viscous solutions and accurately dispense down to nanoliter volumes. The service team and engineers provide outstanding support and I would highly recommend this robot to other users.

I’m the primary user on the NT8 in my lab. I’ve used several different drop setting robots and I can tell you this machine is my favorite. The humidity is a nice feature I can add my trays and let the machine go without fear of it drying out, this allows me to multitask stress-free when running the NT8 as it mixes my protein and solutions. Additionally, I always will make three trays from deep well aliquots and not having to reseal them is also a plus. The tip usage is somewhere in between the mosquito and the phoenix, but I feel like it’s found a good balance here and the waste is an acceptable amount. I’m ok with some waste as having all reusable tips can be quite the hassle as tips can break and require regular cleaning. Drop setting on this machine has always been perfect and hassle-free. I’ve had errors on both the phoenix and mosquito and I had to watch the machines to make sure they ran as expected. With the NT8 I can set drops without worry and have stopped my habit of babysitting the robot. Priming the system is also a breeze, having turbine pumps is much easier than a pressure based system. If I had to have one complaint it the amount of water the machine goes through, but perhaps this problem could be solved with a slightly larger Dewar.

As a crystallization robot capable of sitting or hanging screens and prepping expansion plates, the NT8 is fabulous. It is accurate, reliable and flexible. Notably, the water displacement mechanism and small tips allow for extremely low error rates at 100 nanoliter volumes. The tip washing module means that it requires almost no consumables and therefore costs nearly nothing to operate. Moreover, the machine is robust and forgiving even to the most careless or novice user. The NT8 is not just our crystallization robot, it is our most important liquid dispensing instrument.

Our NT8 dropsetter has proven to be an invaluable asset to our crystallographic work and has become a real workhorse instrument in our lab. Not only does it allow us to test twice as many conditions in half the time (if not more), but it is easily adapted to more customized applications such as screening drop ratios or using additives. We continue to receive prompt, personalized support from Formulatrix and benefit from their constant improvements to both the NT8 and its software. We are very pleased with our experience thus far, and would highly recommend the NT8 to anyone interested in automated crystallization screening.