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By Joshua Gomes
MiNano Form formulates up to eight samples per cartridge on a separate benchtop instrument, and each cartridge moves in and out by hand. The LNP Screening Array produces 100+ formulations per hour on the liquid handler already in your lab.
MiNano Form pairs a benchtop instrument with a disposable cartridge of eight aerofoil mixers. The instrument controls flow pneumatically and handles setup, formulation, and monitoring through its own interface.
Inputs are pipetted into the cartridge with an 8-channel pipette or a liquid handler, and the cartridge is then placed in the instrument for formulation and removed afterward for sample handling. The LNP Screening Array places eight micromixers in a standard SLAS deck position, so the liquid handler dispenses reagents, formulates, and collects every sample on deck.
| Comparison | LNP Screening Array | NanoFormiX MiNano Form |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Existing liquid handler | Benchtop instrument |
| Flow source | Liquid handler pipette tips | Instrument pneumatic system |
| Formulations per run | 8 per LNP Screening Array, multiple LNP Screening Arrays per run | Up to 8 per cartridge, one cartridge per run |
| Control software | Existing liquid handler software | MiNano Form interface |
| Added hardware | Deck adapter on the existing liquid handler | Benchtop instrument |
MiNano Form adds a separate benchtop instrument to the screening workflow, and NanoFormiX’s own homepage states that all sample handling happens away from that instrument. Every run moves samples by hand between the bench, the instrument, and the next step of the screen.
With the LNP Screening Array, the liquid handler prepares lipid and cargo inputs, formulates each sample, and collects it on deck. The same liquid handler then continues into dilution and assay plate preparation, including RiboGreen encapsulation assays.
| Workflow step | LNP Screening Array | NanoFormiX MiNano Form |
|---|---|---|
| Input preparation | On the liquid handler deck | Off the instrument, pipetted into each cartridge |
| Formulation | On the liquid handler deck | On the benchtop instrument |
| Sample collection | On-deck reservoirs | In the cartridge, removed from the instrument by hand |
| Dilution and assay plate preparation | Same liquid handler run | After a manual transfer |
Keeping every step on deck gives the automation team one system, one schedule, and one set of software to manage. The LNP Screening Array runs on standard automated liquid handlers, including platforms like Hamilton, Tecan, Opentrons, Formulatrix, and Dynamic Devices.
Each MiNano Form run processes one cartridge of up to eight formulations. For every eight formulations, an operator inserts a filled cartridge, starts the run, and removes the cartridge before loading the next one. Reaching 100 formulations per hour takes at least 13 cartridges, each handled by hand.
The liquid handler runs multiple LNP Screening Arrays across open deck positions in one automated run, so a full lipid library moves from the first formulation to the last with no operator steps in between.
| Operator steps | LNP Screening Array | NanoFormiX MiNano Form |
|---|---|---|
| Starting formulation | Part of the automated run | Cartridge inserted and run started by hand |
| Moving to the next eight formulations | Handled by the liquid handler | Cartridge removed and the next one inserted by hand |
| Operator steps across a screen | None | Repeated for every cartridge |
| Adding screening capacity | More LNP Screening Arrays on open deck positions | Another MiNano Form instrument |
A lab that needs more throughput from MiNano Form adds another instrument and more cartridges to load and unload by hand. The LNP Screening Array adds capacity on the deck the lab already runs, using the automation protocol already in place.
The LNP Screening Array has published characterization data for blank LNPs made with SM-102, the ionizable lipid in an approved mRNA vaccine, across five liquid handler platforms. That data comes from the same on-deck workflow a screening team runs in its own lab.
We configure the automation protocol for your liquid handler and install it in your lab. Our applications team runs the first screen with you on site, performs DLS during the visit, and remains available for technical support afterward.
Talk with our team about the lipid library you plan to screen and the liquid handler already running in your lab.