Storage System with Evaporators Above Samples

Brooks BioStore II has fully redundant refrigeration circuits that provide reliability as well as additional cooling capacity under unusual heat load conditions. The system may also use liquid nitrogen as a backup refrigerant in case of power failure. The system’s storage chamber has optimal temperature homogeneity of any automated -80 C store due to the unique design— the evaporators are above the samples. A passive tile wall insulates the storage compartment and provides for safe, rapid sample access. Only 0.4 percent of the tile wall surface is opened to allow withdrawal of a tray in under 8 seconds. In their resting position, the tiles form a tight, completely insulated wall between the storage and the robotic compartments. The system is fast, with sample temperature rise at less than 1 C during robotic movements and during picking, both source and destination samples are held at -80 C. The system has a very high tube picking rate, so orders are completed quickly, minimizing the time samples reside outside of storage. The high density storage tray provides 65 percent greater storage density than a standard 96-tube rack and, given the high thermal mass, minimizes temperature change. The shuttle robot serves two independent -80 C storage compartments. The compartments have height optimization, with flexibility to store different container heights automatically without having to re-arrange shelving.

Brooks Life Science Systems, http://www.brooks.com/products/life-science-systems/storage-systems