Brooks Automation (CSA CSM), a global provider of automated sample storage systems and consumables for compound management and biorepositories, has introduced its first commercial sample storage tube incorporating p-Chip® tracking technology.

The p-Chip, a unique electronic microtransponder ID tagging technology, is 100 times smaller, far less expensive and more reliable than RFID technology. Its very small size (0.5mm x 0.5mm x 0.1mm) and stability in high temperatures allow it to be formed permanently into the bottom of each tube. The chip uses laser light activation to read the tube’s ID code through heavy frost and extreme cold conditions, eliminating issues associated with traditional bar codes. In addition, the chip is resistant to sterilization by gamma rays, autoclaving, high G forces, plus stains and reagents.

“Our tubes with p-Chip technology will ensure reliable sample information, tracking and security in challenging cold conditions down to cryogenic (-196° C) temperatures,” says Dusty Tenney, president of Brooks Life Science Systems. “Their unique permanent fused memory will provide a robust indelible code for an unbroken sample lifecycle chain of custody.”

The p-Chip technology will be incorporated in a variety of Brooks’ FluidX tubes, including the unique Cryo Jacket Tubes that are compatible with Brooks’ automated storage systems, including the BioStoreTM III Cryo.

Brooks has begun accepting orders for the p-Chip-enabled tubes, associated racks and universal reader system in February 2016. The p-Chip technology is supplied to Brooks under an exclusive license from PharmaSeq, Inc., of Monmouth Junction NJ.