Azenta Launches Cryo Store Pico™ at SLAS2023
Many cell and gene therapies today rely on cryostorage with precise cold chain handling to ensure the viability and effectiveness of the cells that deliver life-saving treatments. But accessing these cell therapies can sometimes be a cumbersome process for labs and clinics that don’t have the space needed to keep automated cryostorage within the same walls or on the same floor of their building.
An innovation in automated cryostorage from Azenta is about to change that. The space-saving Cryo Store Pico™ expands the existing Azenta line of cryogenic storage solutions and brings automation within easy reach for clinicians and scientists working with valuable biological samples - while keeping both samples and staff safe. The new product was officially launched this week at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) 2023 International Conference in San Diego, CA.
The Cryo Store Pico breaks new ground by offering a smaller footprint that fits automation within standard 8-foot-high ceilings and through 32-inch doorways, making precise cold-chain management accessible from discovery through to clinical settings. As an automated cryogenic storage unit that expands the existing Azenta BioStore™ line, the Pico keeps precious, high-value biological samples at a stable temperature (down to -190 degrees Celsius in vapor-phase liquid nitrogen) and automates chain of custody record-keeping.
“The Cryo Store Pico is an automated cryogenic storage system that takes our proven automation and scales it down for the lab or the clinic, bringing the sample integrity and process rigor of automation closer to the point of use,” said Erica Waller, Product Manager for the Cryo Store Pico. “The user-friendly design removes ergonomic risks to the operator from bending and lifting and limits the hazard of exposure to liquid nitrogen while protecting samples from uncontrolled exposure to ambient temperatures.”
What are the key features of the Cryo Store Pico?
- Automated cryogenic storage that fits smaller clinical and laboratory spaces
- A fully automated system that prioritizes user and sample safety
- Complete sample management with labware flexibility that helps automate workflows
Automation keeps samples and staff safe
The Cryo Store Pico helps keep staff and high-value biological samples safe with a user-friendly, vending-machine-style design that reduces the need for operators to bend over and reach into large tanks filled with liquid nitrogen. It also helps ensure that samples remain at controlled temperatures.
The precious biological samples used for advanced cell and gene therapies, especially those that rely on difficult-to-replicate autogenic cells from a patient, must be carefully controlled and kept at consistent ultra-low temperatures to avoid formation of cell-killing ice crystals.
“Since the cooling agent and mechanical parts are completely enclosed within an aesthetically pleasing outer shell, the Pico can easily sit within a patient-facing clinical space, or in a laboratory setting with multiple users,” said Waller. “Users just walk up to the kiosk, hit a few buttons to log in, and the system takes care of retrieving the correct sample.”
While the user is doing what is needed with the selected samples, the rest of the samples are automatically brought back down to the freezer so they stay cold. When a new sample is added, the user scans the barcode to automatically log it and store it, and the Cryo Store Pico keeps a record of where the sample is located.
Automation reduces the chance that innocent samples are exposed to transient warming, which can happen when researchers or technicians pull a box of cryotubes from a manual freezer, bringing other samples along for the ride. Sometimes these samples can sit at ambient, or near ambient temperatures, for longer than expected as clinicians or researchers search for the right sample from among the stored boxes.
At under 8 feet in height, the new Cryo Store Pico automated sample storage solution fits into standard clinical and laboratory spaces.
Automation ensures accurate record-keeping
Login-based user access also ensures that accurate records of each sample’s origin, times of access, and temperature exposures are automatically maintained, which supports regulatory compliance, including 21 CFR, Part 11.
“Digital sample management at this level means system owners always know how many samples they have and what types, and have full records of the chain of custody, including exposures to ambient or near ambient temperatures,” added Waller.
“The Cryo Store Pico ensures precise cold-chain handling, and secure, login-based access means we always know which samples have been pulled by whom, and how long they were in use,” said Dr. Erik J. Woods, Co-Founder, EVP & Chief Science Officer, Ossium Health. “This is especially important if cells are stored at a clinical site that might not have existing sample management systems in place. Putting automation into the clinical space is a game-changer for efficiency and maintaining sample integrity. If we avoid just one precious high-value sample becoming compromised, our investment in the Pico more than pays for itself.”
The space-efficient Cryo Store Pico can store up to 8,800 2mL vials, supports labware flexibility (with the ability to adapt to multiple tube and vial sizes), and has a 10-day emergency hold time.
See it in action
Watch this video of Erica Waller doing a live demonstration of the Pico at Advanced Therapies Week in January 2023.
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