The Hudson SOLO™ is a low cost, flexible and easy-to-use automated pipettor. Available in single, 8 and 12 channel pipette options the SOLO automated pipetting robot can be programmed to do anything expected of a hand-held pipettor, with greatly improved precision (see the Specifications tab):
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- The SOLO takes minutes to learn to use
- Easy-to-use, agile and flexible software
- As precise as any ‘big deck’ robotic liquid handling system
Simply set up the liquid handling steps in intuitive SoloSoft control software and go. Equipped with a broad dynamic volume range and the ability to handle reactions in a sterile environment. It is about half the cost of other laboratory robotics platforms and has options of 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 microplate nests on the deck. The SOLO will fit into most biological safety cabinets, anaerobic chambers and fume hoods.
The SOLO can be loaded and operated manually, but is also compatible with robotic arms from most manufacturers, including our PlateCrane EX. The small footprint and open design of the SOLO automated pipettor provide easy integration with accessories, such as heating and cooling nests, incubators, magnetic bead nests, automatable centrifuges, microplate readers and more. Our SoftLinx lab automation software has software Plug-ins to over 200 3rd party lab instruments.

A SOLO with an ATC Thermocycler, Hudson’s magnetic bead nest, Torrey Pines shaking nest, and FilterPress

A SOLO with a PlateCrane robotic arm, Micro10x reagent dispenser, FilterPress and BMG reader integration
The SOLO liquid handler was developed to meet the growing need throughout the research, pharmaceutical and clinical communities for a high resolution compact robotic pipettor. The SOLO’s liquid handling provides researchers with walkaway freedom, a small footprint, and easy to use SoloSoft software which is closely linked to our SoftLinx™ software for data tracking and scheduling, plus improved efficiency and decreased cost of continuous unattended operation systems.
The SOLO – multi-tip is available with either an 8-tip pipette head or 12-tip pipette head. The SOLO is standard with a 6 position deck. No worries if you need to transfer samples quickly from plate to plate and then other times do a serial dilution across the plate. The SOLO easily adapts without any tools to both heads. Use the 12-tip head to finish plate to plate transfers 50% faster than the 8-tip head, remove the head and add the 8 position head for easy serial dilutions.
Serial Dilution with the SOLO |
Users who wish to cherry-pick from individual wells can use either the single-tip SOLO (as shown in the video clip below) or the multi-tip configuration. The SOLO multi-tip (both 8-channel and 12-channel) can work with just 1 tip, several tips, or all the tips without any issues. There is no need to switch to a single tip pipette head.
The SOLO mutli-tip offers a broad pipetting range. The mechanical drive and software controls of the pipette head allow the SOLO to push the boundaries of pipetting performance. With CVs of less than 3% across the entire pipetting range users can save valuable time and expense by using a single pipette head for both multi-tip and single-tip operations.
The SOLO automated pipettors provide many benefits to the lab:
- Single-, 8- & 12-channel pipetting heads are available.
- The 8- & 12-channel SOLO instruments can use only 1 tip without compromising performance saving valuable time and expense.
- The SOLO offers many pipetting option to give the SOLO user the ability to dispense accurate volumes (from 500nL to 10ml) with CVs better than 3%.
- The SOLO offers email functionality in the software that alerts the user when a run is completed or that an error has occurred.
- The SOLO can easily be integrated with additional instruments and software at anytime.
- The SOLO is easily customized for unique or specialized applications.
Accessories
PlateCrane EX Robot Arm
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LabLinx Microplate Stacker
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Micro10x Reagent Dispenser
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Magnetic Bead Station
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FilterPress Pressure Filtration Station
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Heating/Cooling Nest
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Shaker Nest
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Applications
The SOLO was developed to meet the growing need throughout the research, pharmaceutical and clinical communities for a high resolution compact robotic pipettor. It can be adapted to any research activity which requires the accurate addition, removal and mixing of liquid samples and reagents – including those containing live cells. The SOLO can be integrated with other automated instruments for seamless process control and flexibility and has many uses in applications involving:
DNA Extraction
Microbiome/Microbiota Research
Oligo Pooling
Oligo Purification
Gene Assembly
DNA and RNA Normalization;
Synthetic Biology
Plasmid Preparation;
Fungal, Yeast, Bacterial Colony Picking
Colony Plating
DNA Transformation into Bacteria
Protein Binding
Protein Expression & Purification;
Handling Non-Standard Sample Plates
ELISA
Serial Dilutions
Features
The SOLO easily fits on lab benchtops and into standard fume hoods and biosafety cabinets. It can automate large and small volume experiments, is adaptable to common well plate formats and can improve the quality and reliability of research. The SOLO can work as an unattended stand alone instrument which can save time and decrease cost and users can learn to use Hudson’s Softlinx software in just minutes. The product also can preserve sterility and avoid cross-contamination while dispensing into slides and microplates. The SOLO high-throughput single-channel pipettor has features researchers will find very desirable in a benchtop instrument including:
- Compact as small as 14″ x 16″ (355mm x 400mm) footprint for a 4 microplate position SOLO
- 8-, 24-, 96-, 384- and 1536-well microplate compatible
- Compatible with a wide variety of non-standard vials, test tubes and reagent reservoirs
- Broad volume range: 500nl to 1000ul for the multi-tip heads, 500nL to 10mL for the single-tip heads.
- Easily fits in a standard hood
- Fully compatible with robot loading systems or can be used manually as a stand alone unit
- Plate stacker upgrade available anytime for unparalleled flexibility and high throughput
- Easy to use SoloSoft control software for simple programming of pipetting steps
- Includes Hudson Robotics’ SoftLinx software, which provides an easy-to-use interface to coordinate the SOLO’s operation with other automated instruments
Specifications
Dispensing : Single channel – 1ul to 10 ml; optional pump assembly for bulk dispensing
8 & 12 channel : 1-10 ul pipette head; 5 – 200ul pipette head; 20 – 1000 ul pipette head
Plate Capacity : 4, 6, 8, 10,12 microplate positions available
Optional Microplate Gripper : Move plates to accessories on the deck or other instruments
Plate Format : SBS standard footprint, any well configuration; inquire about custom nests
Tubes, Flasks and Vials: Any format
Housing material : Stainless main deck; painted steel upper arm covers over machined aluminum structural components
Spill Protection : All electronics protected by solid, non-penetrated cover to prevent any leakage onto electrical devices
Arm Mechanism: Horizontal Travel/Vertical Stroke: x=22.5″; y=9.3″; z=4.0″
Size : As small as 24.0″ x 29.5″ x 19.5″ (H x W x D) for a 4 microplate position SOLO
Weight : 50lbs
Power Requirements: 120-240 VAC, 50-60Hz, 2Amps Max at 120
Computer Interface : RS-232 serial cable
Precision: The high-resolution motor that drives the SOLO’s pipette greatly increases it’s precision. Results vary depending on the nature of the liquid and the exact method of aspiration and dispense, but in general, a pipette rated at 20-200uL will dispense as low as 2uL with an average CV below 2%. Larger volumes are dispensed with CVs under 0.5%.
Equipping the SOLO with a lower volume pipette allows one to dispense liquids in the range of 1 µL to 1000 µL with similar precision. Click here to view a recent white paper that discusses pipetting techniques and their effect on precision.
Speed: Below are some timing results based on filling each well of a 96 well plate with 5uL of liquid, one well at a time.
Method | Average Time/ Plate (min:sec) |
Aspirate from a reservoir (Same point each time) |
1:43 |
Copy plate – well by well with no tip changes |
6:18 |
Copy plate – well by well with 96 tip changes |
29:04 |