About Aurora
Since 1990, Aurora has been serving the global scientific research community through the development of innovative laboratory solutions. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, the company started manufacturing analytical instrumentation based on a patented capacitively coupled plasma emission technology.
In 2000, Aurora became the first to develop a non-radioactive, label-free technology for the study and high throughput screening of ion channel and transporter targets. This technology has been rapidly incorporated into many pharmaceutical drug discovery pipelines and academic labs. Capitalizing on this expertise in high throughput technologies, Aurora expanded its products to include the VERSA series of automated liquid handling platforms aimed at the life science, molecular diagnostics, and precision medicine fields. We are committed to improving the quality of human and environmental health by providing products and services that facilitate higher throughput while enhancing quality, accuracy, and precision.
Since 2003, Aurora has been the host of the annual Precision Medicine and Ion Channel Retreat. This conference is designed to bring together industry and leading academic researchers to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and establish fruitful partnerships. This conference alternates every year between Canada and China, attracting leading scientists from around the world to engage in thought-provoking discussions on drug discovery and personalized medicine. It allows Aurora and the community to keep a pulse on cutting-edge technology and innovative research.
In 2007, Aurora Biomed opened its Asia sales and services center to facilitate expansion into the rapidly growing Asia market. To further expand Aurora’s market reach, an active network of distributors based in over 80 countries worldwide providing sales and service support to customers was developed.
Application Sectors
Aurora’s product range includes automated solutions and instrumentation for a variety of application sectors:
Automated Liquid Handling Systems
Aurora Biomed is dedicated to providing automation solutions for scientists to streamline their research and facilitate scientific breakthroughs. The VERSA™ Series of liquid handling systems are versatile instruments and are valuable tools for a range of applications and sectors including healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agriculture, food science, and forensics. The VERSA Series enables greater efficiency, higher reproducibility, and improved data quality while reducing reagent costs and freeing up valuable time for researchers to perform other tasks. Each system is optimized to the customer’s specific protocol requirements, including labware and kit chemistry, providing unparalleled flexibility and versatility.
Elemental Analysis Instrumentation
Aurora was founded on its ability to design and develop superior analytical instruments for elemental analysis. Our lineup of instrumentation includes the TRACE Series of atomic absorption spectrometers, the LUMINA Series of atomic fluorescence spectrometers, UV and Visible Spectrophotometers, and the TRANSFORM Series of safe and effective microwave digestion systems for upstream sample preparation.
Ion Channel Research
Aurora Biomed’s Ion Channel Reader series (ICR) of instruments combines atomic absorbance spectrometry with a patented microsampling process to accurately measure ion flux in cell-based assays. The ICR series provides an extremely sensitive, high throughput, and cost-effective solution for pharmaceutical and academic laboratories studying ion channels and transporters or in the drug discovery process. Aurora’s family of Ion Channel Screening products includes atomic absorption spectroscopy-based Ion Channel Readers, Ion Channel Assays, and Ion Channel Screening Cell Line licensing. The ICR 8000 and 12000 are compact enough for the benchtop and have a broad range of applications including voltage and ligand-gated channels, ion pumps and transporters, and stretch-activated channels.
Customization and OEM Robotics
With Aurora’s strong history of instrument development and innovation, we also offer a variety of standard and customized Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) products. At Aurora, we understand that competitive pricing, reliability, compatibility, and quality are crucial factors for successful OEM partnerships. Based on these factors, we have developed a wide range of pumps and robotic components that can complement your system to eliminate time-consuming manual processes. Currently, these include Autosamplers and Syringe Pumps as well as Custom Liquid Handling workstations. Our dedicated team of engineers will work with your development staff to accelerate software and hardware integration, liquid handling, and robotic components.