Donnerstag, 24. März 2016

Preparing samples for lab automation

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Porvair Sciences’ Ultravap Mistral is designed to remove the traditional laboratory ‘bottleneck’ of solvent evaporation from microplates.


Designed to be automation-friendly, the Ultravap Mistral gives significant throughput advantages to laboratories looking to optimise microplate sample preparation. Faster than centrifugal evaporation for single plates, significant increases in sample throughput are achieved through advanced evaporator head technology and an innovative manifold design, which directly injects heated nitrogen into each individual well of the microplate simultaneously. Installation requires only connection to a gas supply and mains electricity. Safety of operation is ensured as this CE-marked compact unit fits into all fume cupboards and boasts full integral fume management within the unit.


Designed to be easily assembled and disassembled by robotic manipulators the Porvair Sciences Universal Robotic Manifold enables productive automation of SPE or DNA clean-up procedures. Able to accommodate collection plates from 14mm-44mm in height and adaptable to work with three different lengths of drip director the Universal Robotic Manifold offers the capability of being able to operate with all brands of filter plate and waste collection reservoir tray.


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Credit: Paul Boughton[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]



Preparing samples for lab automation

Montag, 21. März 2016

Robot scientists and automation: is this the lab of the future?

A team of researchers recently published promising findings on ‘Eve’ – an artificially intelligent ‘robot scientist’ capable of screening potential drugs with almost no human input needed. Meanwhile, IBM’s artificially intelligent (AI) Watson system is seeing take-up among pharmaceutical companies. Is this how we can expect the lab of the future to materialize?



As technology continues evolving and the laboratory becomes more automated, these types of systems will increasingly pool knowledge and data together to discover unique links – between otherwise seemingly unconnected observations. This couldn’t be timelier, with research and development (R&D) teams under intense pressure to develop new products faster and cheaper.


This shift towards automation has been a long time coming. In the 1990s, many cited AI and total laboratory automation as the ‘next big thing’ in R&D. But while some industries are seeing complete job displacement brought about by new technologies, the pharma sector hasn’t yet seen similar levels of ‘human replacement’. Drug discovery labs, for example, will still need a human element for the foreseeable future.


robot scientists and automation is this the lab of the future


The role these AI systems play lies in helping explore fresh ideas, such as a new pathway or target for a drug, and they can offer this coupled with predictive analysis to supplement the work of scientists in the lab. These predictive analyses have limitations – the volume of data and computing power required to simulate the effects of a drug on the whole body are enormous, for example. But their empirical basis means they can now get quite close to simulating ‘nature’ when the system is well defined and understood.


Perfect simulation may still be some way off, but our ability to manage and analyze more and more data has increased exponentially. When these new systems are performing any kind of analysis, they will have to feed back the derived information and integrate it with other new and potentially unrelated data. In that sense, a gradual adoption of more intelligent lab technologies will make it even more important to be able to securely manage multiple streams of data, from one central point of knowledge and IP.


Will the introduction of AI herald a new era for life sciences? Not quite – Eve is the latest evolution of this kind of technology, rather than a brand new concept. This is not a silver bullet but, as science evolves and the data availability changes around it, AI technology will play a role in the discovery and development of new drugs and disease understanding. As with all new tech and tools in sciences, it will help support the scientist – but it will not replace them.


Want to find out more about how laboratories will evolve over the coming years? Download our free whitepaper on the lab of the future here.




Robot scientists and automation: is this the lab of the future?

Dienstag, 8. März 2016

Festo Showcases Automation Enabling Technology for High Speed Laboratory Devices



Festo modular automation systems help laboratory equipment manufacturers lower engineering costs, improve equipment performance, and bring products to market faster. (Festo Pittcon Booth #3923) Festo features at Pittcon 2016, March 6-10 in Atlanta, the company’s automation subassemblies for state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.





Equipment manufacturers partnering with Festo typically bring products to market faster. As a case in point, Anton Paar representatives will be in the Festo booth discussing the impact of Festo handling and microfluidic control automation on the development of the company’s new modular sample processor. This new Anton Paar machine automates sample preparation prior to analysis. The system makes many samples from one sample or combines a number of samples to make a single sample. The modular sample processor ensures specified concentration and blend. Low- and high-viscosity samples of up to 1000 mPa-s are processed quickly and accurately. The unit can be used for liquids, pastes, powders, and granules and gives repeatable and correct subsamples.


Festo mechatronic subassemblies on display

The EXCM Mini-H gantry is a compact handling system for laboratory automation and is one of a number of Festo systems on display at Pittcon. The EXCM planar surface gantry is fast, accurate, modular, and flexible. It is also plug-and-play for quick and easy start-up. This desktop system moves on a planar X/Y axis with an absolute positioning accuracy of + .05 inches (1.27 mms) and a repetition accuracy of + .01 inches (.254 mms).


The demonstration at Pittcon features the Mini-H gantry with a Z telescope slide axis, special application product, integrated with a Festo microfluidic dosing head. Festo modular dosing heads provide a range of dosing options from individually controlled valves to multiple heads controlled by a single valve. In addition to dosing, the EXCM with Z axis can be used for barcode-based sample identification and liquid dispensing/pipetting.


Another Festo demo simulates the transfer of whole blood from the specimen to an analysis chip within a small footprint device. In this demo, a gripper removes a vial from a tray and transfers it to an integrated rotary gripping unit. The system’s camera reads a barcode and approves eligibility for testing. The unit opens the vial and an integrated pipetting module with a disposable tip removes the specimen. After dosing the correct amount on the analysis chip, the tip of the pipette is disposed of in a sharps container and the vial is resealed. Key Festo components include the handling and microfluidics systems, controller, and software. One of the most time-consuming activities for equipment manufacturers is control and communication integration. This demo features the Festo CPX control system, which reduces engineering expense.


The new Festo Single Axis Variable Pitch Module (SVPM) is an ideal solution for applications such as lab sample preparation and for automating sample diluting or concentrating methods. The mechanical linkage of the SVPM permits pitch adjustment from a minimum of .35 inches (9 mms) to a maximum of 2 inches (50 mms). In the preparation of lab samples, individual pipettes can easily be mounted to each of the eight fingers. Using this configuration, eight pipettes can aspirate or dispense from a 96 well plate (8 x 12) at a .35 inch (9mm) pitch, then expand to a different pitch, as required by the application to aspirate, or dispense into a large variety of fluid containers such as tubes, chips, or vials.


Be sure to stop by the Festo Booth #3923 at Pittcon 2016 to see the various active demonstrations and the Anton Paar Modular Sample Processor. And for more information on Festo clinical laboratory automation solutions, call Festo at 800-993-3786 and visit http://www.festo.com/us.





About Festo

Festo is a leading manufacturer of pneumatic and electromechanical systems, components, and controls for process and industrial automation. For more than 40 years, Festo Corporation has continuously elevated the state of manufacturing with innovations and optimized motion control solutions that deliver higher performing, more profitable automated manufacturing and processing equipment.


Source: http://www.roboticstomorrow.com/




Festo Showcases Automation Enabling Technology for High Speed Laboratory Devices