We have recently developed new technology for moving worm samples from wells of multiwell plates to our BioSorter large particle flow cytometer. We call this autosampler the LP Sampler. The (Large Particle) LP Sampler is an automated sample introduction system designed specifically for gentle handling of C. elegans animals, and other sample types. The purpose of our experiments is to determine the overall performance of the LP Sampler. We show that worms deposited in wells of 96-well plates can be aspirated and delivered intact to the BioSorter instrument for analysis and redistribution. Sampling can be done from wells of 96-well plates and the analyzed worms can be redispensed into various multiwell plate formats, including 384-well plates. Worms from one well were distributed to many wells. Time per well is around 32-36 seconds, with a recovery that averages 89-95% over 96-wells. A wash step between wells was used to reduce carryover. Plates were inspected by microscopy and it was determined that carryover is less than 1%. Software was developed with the use of scripts we could modify. We established scripts for controlling the LP Sampler with the BioSorter resulting in the independent mapping of the plate of origin (which wells to sample from) and the output plate (which wells analyzed worms should be dispensed to). This type of flexible control allows the simple solution of moving the worms from one well of the origin plate to the corresponding well of a target plate after analysis, or the more difficult task of moving worms from one well to many wells of the target plate. We present our initial testing of the LP Sampler with proof of principle experiments using PD4793 [
myo-2::GFP,
pes-10::gfp, F22B7.9::gfp] and N2. The experiments we present simulate the types of experiments researchers working with RNAi libraries might require, as well as researchers screening deletion libraries and clonally distributing single worms for further growth and analysis.