Optimizing respiratory virus research workflows with VACUBOY

The ImmunoPharmacology Research Group (IPRG), based at the UTS School of Life Sciences, employs cutting-edge research methods to elucidate the underlying causes and mechanisms that drive chronic lung disease. Dr Madison Coward-Smith is a Lecturer within IPRG and co-supervises PhD student Jessica Tolentino. Their current research focuses on how respiratory viruses, such as influenza, impact the cardiovascular system, and the effects of maternal exposures to factors including air pollution and third-hand e-vape fumes, on offspring immune cell responses to respiratory viral challenge. This work involves both in vitro and pre-clinical workflows, with the hopes of contributing to a better understanding of disease pathogenesis, the development of new targeted therapeutics and improved patient outcomes.

Madison and her team perform large numbers of plaque assays to assess viral titers, processing up to 60 plates at a time. Washing so many plates manually with a serological pipet was time consuming and strenuous on the body. The lab therefore adopted a VACUBOY vacuum hand operator connected to a VACUSAFE aspiration system to rapidly aspirate media during plate washing. This set-up dramatically speeds up this step, bringing the time down from nearly a minute per plate to just 10-15 seconds each. This amounts to a huge time saving, releasing staff to move on to other tasks sooner, and makes a big difference to the productivity of the small and busy team.

Madison explained: “I had some experience of INTEGRA products from my PhD program, and enjoyed using them for various liquid handling tasks. When I joined the IPRG in early 2024, I was happy to see that the lab was already using INTEGRA’s VACUBOY and VACUSAFE. This set-up is incredibly straightforward and user friendly; even new students have no trouble getting to grips with it right away. I also appreciate the alarm feature on the VACUSAFE that alerts you when the bottle is full and needs to be emptied. It’s reassuring that we don’t have to worry about overfilling it and risking contamination or damage. At the end of each day, anyone can easily clean it out ready for the next user in the morning.”

Madison and her colleagues frequently use the VACUBOY when working with 6 well plates and culture flasks inside a biosafety cabinet. The VACUBOY allows them to gently aspirate varying volumes of media – typically 1-2 ml per well or 15 ml per flask – in a short time, reducing the time that users have to sit in potentially uncomfortable positions when working inside a cabinet. “Working in a biosafety cabinet isn't the most ergonomic activity in the world, but the VACUBOY is much lighter and faster than the serological pipets I have used in the past,” Madison continued. “We all rely on it quite heavily in the lab, particularly when we're doing plaque assays. I have also been working with extracellular vesicles (EVs) over the past few years, and collecting enough EVs for these studies requires a massive number of cells and a huge volume of media. The VACUBOY has been incredibly helpful for smoothing out the aspirations and plate washing steps involved in maintaining these sensitive cell cultures.”

“I haven't had any issues with the VACUBOY that I have seen with other vacuum pumps, such as dripping, so I have not had to reach out to INTEGRA for troubleshooting or maintenance. The INTEGRA team has been very responsive and pleasant to deal with whenever I have queries or feedback though, and I’ve always had a good experience communicating with our INTEGRA representatives,” Madison added.