Fundamentals of Echo Acoustic Liquid Handling
Acoustic liquid handling, also known as acoustic liquid dispensing, is a specific type of automated liquid handling that, unlike traditional tip-based methods, transfers liquids from a source well to a destination well as nanoliter-scale discrete droplets using focused acoustic energy instead of pipetting tips.
The key technology enabling this controlled transfer of liquids is Acoustic Droplet Ejection (ADE). Initially, it was introduced by Labcyte and embodied in the company’s Echo Acoustic Liquid Handlers, with the first Echo 550 Series released in 2004.
ADE enables rapid and precise transfer of ultra-low volumes. While nanoliter-scale dispensing is achievable with other technologies, ADE is uniquely suited for highly accurate, parallel, and combinatorial sample transfers with consistent precision and unrivaled scalability. Its contact-free nature minimizes contamination and carryover risks, reducing variability and supporting reproducible results—key factors in its transformative impact on drug discovery.
Legacy Echo 550 Acoustic Liquid Handler
New Echo 650T Acoustic Liquid Handler
Today, ADE-based acoustic liquid handling is an established industry standard in drug discovery and is widely used in high-impact applications including high-throughput screening, assay development and miniaturization, as well as combinatorial perturbagen workflows. The unique capabilities of ADE enhance a broad range of disciplines such as synthetic biology, genomics, proteomics, and structural biology.
The significance of acoustic liquid handling in drug discovery is reflected in the fact that major global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have incorporated Echo Liquid Handlers as part of their research operations. Additionally, Echo systems are cited in more than 2,000 major international multidisciplinary and specialized journals as well as in preprint publications.
In 2019, Labcyte became part of Beckman Coulter, and we continue to invest in the further advancement and evolution of acoustic liquid handling. Thus, we recently introduced our newest Echo 650 Plus Series.
To delve deeper into the fundamentals, explore each of the following topics:
Benefits of Echo Liquid Handlers
Not intended or validated for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions.
ECHO is a trademark or registered trademark of Labcyte Inc. in the United States and other countries. Labcyte is a Beckman Coulter company. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
