Analytical processes, automation

Keywords. Antibiotics, Contamination-free mass culture, Molecular biology, Genetic engineering, Computer application, On-line analytics, Process automation, Transgenic plants, Food from genetically modified crops, Restrictive policy, Ethical concerns... 

Within the analytical process, automation and robotics play very important roles in environmental analysis, food analysis, and clinical analysis. There are two basic types of automation equipment automatic devices and automated devices. 

The methods dependent upon measurement of an electrical property, and those based upon determination of the extent to which radiation is absorbed or upon assessment of the intensity of emitted radiation, all require the use of a suitable instrument, e.g. polarograph, spectrophotometer, etc., and in consequence such methods are referred to as instrumental methods . Instrumental methods are usually much faster than purely chemical procedures, they are normally applicable at concentrations far too small to be amenable to determination by classical methods, and they find wide application in industry. In most cases a microcomputer can be interfaced to the instrument so that absorption curves, polarograms, titration curves, etc., can be plotted automatically, and in fact, by the incorporation of appropriate servo-mechanisms, the whole analytical process may, in suitable cases, be completely automated. 

The conventional analytical process is comprised of sampling — sample preparation —> analysis —> calculation —> approval of results — report — decision.93 The introduction of productivity measurements to focus attention on continuous improvement and improving the reliability of assays to eliminate re-analysis can aid in re-engineering the process for greater efficiency.93 Automation is another important aspect of improving efficiency.94 The rate-limiting steps in many industrial laboratories, however, may precede or... 

Continuous analysis offers another very useful possibility of completely automated chemical control, especially in manufacturing processes, but also in analytical processes such as separational flow techniques where the analytical measurement proper acts as a sensor, usually called the detector. As long as a physical or physico-chemical constant yields a sufficiently accurate and specific... 

Flow techniques have become of considerable importance, not only in routine titrations but also in other analytical methods as automated analytical processes they all need to be under the control of a detector, often called a sensor and sometimes a biosensor. We can divide the techniques into the following ... 

The application of technology in laboratories via automation and robotics (flexible automation) minimizes the need for human intervention in analytical processes, increases productivity, improves data quality, reduces costs, and enables experimentation that otherwise would be impossible. Pharmaceutical companies continuously look for ways to reduce the time and effort required for testing. To meet the ever-increasing demands for efficiency while providing consistent quality of analysis, more pharmaceutical R D and QC laboratories have now automated their sampling, sample preparation, and analysis procedures. 

The aims of the automation group at LGC were very clear and are shown in Table 1.3. Simphcity was considered to be the best approach, with the minimum number of processes being involved. A more complex approach has many more chances of failure. The total systems approach is defined in Chapter 3. Essentially, it sets out to cover all aspects of the analytical process as defined in Fig. 1.2. It provides for the quahty checks at operator, supervisor and managerial levels, and rehable results transferred in a readily digestible format. The Tar and Nicotine Survey described by Stockwell and Copeland [IS] is a good example of the approach. The total process, from the statistical sampHng pattern through to quahty-controlled data, leads in its final format to results tabulated for public information. 

Finally, the development of automated methods for wet decomposition of solid samples without human participation can only be achieved with the use of a robotic station [183]. Nevertheless, a number of auxiliary energies and commercially available modules can facilitate and/or accelerate this time-consuming step of the analytical process (i.e., obtain the analyte(s) from a solid sample in the form of a solution). 

The term solid-phase extraction was introduced by personnel of the J. T. Baker Company in 1982. The method consists of retention of the analytes from a liquid or gaseous sample to a solid stationary phase and subsequent removal of analytes using an appropriate eluent. The main purpose of SPE is isolation and preconcentration of compounds of interest or sample clean-up and simplification of the matrix. Application of this sample preparation technique also allows extract fractionation. As a result of significant reduction in the volume of organic solvents used, high recovery, and the possibility of process automation, SPE is a good alternative for conventional liquid-liquid extraction. According to their affinity for the compound of interest, stationary phases are classified as follows ... 

Although the use of ultrasound to assist sample preparation has so far been limited in relation to its potential [39,40], few analytical chemists are unaware that US can help, improve, aoeelerate or automate the preliminary steps of the analytical process — particularly those preoeding sampling (e.gf. cleaning the lab material or degassing solvents). Ultrasound has also found a variety of uses in the detection step ranging from... 

One of the greatest advantages of continuous US-assisted operations is their ease of on-line connection to other operations in order to facilitate automation of the overall analytical process. In this way, the solutions obtained after each step need not be handled by the operator or come in contact with the atmosphere — which can be of enormous interest for some analytical systems. 

The designs described in Section 4.3.4 have been used either to leach the target analytes only and then proceed off-line with other steps of the analytical process, or to couple leaching on-line with other steps in order to automate the overall process as far as possible. 

The ability to fully automate the analytioal process by coupling USAL with other steps is not shared by Soxhiet leaohing, which cannot be coupled for unattended development of the analytical process. 

HTS is intended to obtain faster more high-quality product leads from large volumes of genetic or peptide molecules. HTS has improved the number of molecules that can be screened for activity by 10- to 1000-fold. The process of HTS is dependent on improved analytical processes (better surface chemistry, capture agents, and detection methods), miniaturization of equipment, and automation. Currently, over 100,000 samples can be tested in a day. ... 

Despite the progress, sample preparation continues to be the bottleneck of the analytical process as, only in the past 10-15 years, has its automation been actively addressed — by contrast, advances in automated chromatographic and spectroscopic equipment started one or two decades before. The reasons why SP remains the bottleneck of the analytical process vary among experts [7], but the most widely endorsed are as follows ... 

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