The widespread adoption of molecular cloning and recombinant protein expression revolutionized biological research by offering scientists simplified workflows for plasmid construction and protein production. The integration of automation offers the potential for a similar paradigm shift by increasing throughput and reproducibility.

Here we present how automation devices, including the Echo 525 Acoustic Liquid Handler, can be coupled with NEB’s established workflows for seamless DNA Assembly, multi-site mutagenesis and cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS). By combining the efficient and accurate assemblies of NEBridge^® Golden Gate Assembly and NEBuilder^® HIFI DNA Assembly with the rapid and reproducible expression from our CPFS systems, NEBExpress^® and PURExpress^®, researchers can quickly interrogate a variety of custom designs.

In addition to automating workflows, the low volume transfer (25nL) of the Echo 525 enables reliable miniaturization, thus improving the accessible throughput of our reagents by 50-100X and relieving the cost burden of high-throughput analyses.