Automation protocols instrumentation

Standardized staining protocols require standardized reagents to ensure reproducible results. Manufacturers of automated immunostaining instruments may supply proprietary buffers and wash solutions for their instrument, but the properties of these should be within the range of parameters that are used in manual staining. (The primary additives to manufacturer-supplied reagents are surfactants.)... 

A batch of resin-bound 6.48 was prepared in a reaction flask and divided into 50-mg portions in each well of the 96-weU reaction block of the synthesizer. The synthesis of the library on the 96-well reaction block required around 8 h of instrument time and could have easily been repeated with different monomers in order to enrich the chemical diversity. Fully automated protocols provide access to 24-hr/day, seven-days/week operation and can thus maximize the use of an automated SP synthesizer the same protocol has been subsequently adapted to a higher throughput SP synthesizer (164) and has provided a 3072-member discrete SP library of tricyclic compounds (165). 

For systems that do not offer online HIAR, these procedures must be performed manually or off-line prior to loading slides on the instrument. Online HIAR methods are usually found as part of the closed-type automated staining systems, and are therefore less flexible in terms of what a technician can do to change the HIAR portion of a staining protocol to help optimize staining for particularly difficult antibodies. In spite of this, the ability to perform online HIAR is advantageous for many antibodies because it is extremely consistent and frees up technician time to complete other laboratory tasks. 

In order to make the Biginelli protocol amenable to an automated library generation format, utilizing the integrated robotic interface of the instrument, attempts were made to dissolve most of the building blocks used in solvents compatible with the reaction conditions. Since many of the published protocols employ either ethanol or acetic acid as solvents in Biginelli-type condensations, a 3 1 mixture of acetic acid... 

There are many instruments designed for either enzyme assays or substrate assays using enzymes. Information on the analytical capabilities of these instruments will be supplied by the manufacturers. This will often include protocols for specified assays using kits of commercially available pre-prepared reagents. These may be in liquid or dry form and may, for substrate assays, include immobilized enzymes. The facility to be able to develop additional automated methods on a particular instrument will depend upon its design and some instruments are dedicated solely to specified analyses. 

Implementing this level of automation intelligence has been the most difficult to realize within manufacturing industries. That is, while automation controls integration of simple univariate instruments (e.g., a hlter photometer) is seamless, it is much more problematic for multivariate or spectral instruments. This is due to the tower of babble problem with various process spectroscopic instraments across process instrument manufactures. That is, the communications protocols, wavelength units and hie formats are far from standardized across spectral instruments, even within a particular class of techniques such as vibrational spectroscopy. Several information technology (IT) and automation companies have recently attempted to develop commercialized solutions to address this complex problem, but the effectiveness of these solutions has yet to be determined and reported. 

The test procedures described above (see Basic Protocols 1 and 2) have recently been simplified by utilizing advanced techniques such as ultrasonic and infrared spectroscopy. The purchase of one of these advanced analytical instruments is recommended for emulsion manufacturers that frequently conduct emulsion stability tests and require automated analysis of a large number of samples. 

Dako PTLink instrument simplifies the water bath antigen retrieval process by performing automated retrieval using specified protocols, which incorporate preheat temperature, antigen retrieval temperature, and time as well as cool down settings. Typically, antigen retrieval is performed for 20 minutes at 97 °C. 

Some interesting devices, both on classical (46) and miniamrized scale (47, 48) have been developed for the combinatorial hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites (49,50). Solutions of suitable precursors were dispensed into the wells of the multireactor autoclaves, which were then sealed and heated following appropriate protocols. X-ray characterization of the individuals allowed the determination of the properties of the library individuals. Both protocols and instruments allowed the synthesis of hundreds of composites and their automated (47) or semiautomated (46, 48) work-up and characterization. Structural information was derived from both reports, proving the applicability of combinatorial technologies to hydrothermal synthesis procedures. 

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