Compound library management automation

The essential components of the integrated HTS process, such as screening automation, compound library management, the screening of natural products from botanical sources, and screening informatics... 

The plate-to-plate tube transfer at -20 °C in the Liquid Master Store and in the Smart Compound Depository are similar robotic operations that can be combined in one automated sample bank. The combination of 96-tube and 384-microtube plate-to-plate tube transfer in one system might be the preferred solution for sample management of small- and medium-sized HTS libraries. 

Numerous reviews cover the selection, construction, and curation of chemical libraries, debates about their size and composition, operational costs, infrastructure, and best practices of compound management of stock solutions and dry powders [2, 3, 20]. For the purposes of implementation of automated robotic assays, the practical aspects are that the entire chemical library exists as working stocks (typically 2 mM in 100 % DMSO) of individual compounds stored in heat-sealed (see also Note 4), daughter barcoded microplates of well density format matching the final screening format (96-, 384-, or 1,536-well) in a plate material consistent w/chemical inertness (cycloelefin copolymer (COC) or polypropylene) or optimized for acoustic dispensing (Echo-certified COC or diamond plates). 

The construction of a fully automated laboratory where all manual steps - from chemical synthesis to product characterization - are managed by robots is no longer a futuristic dream. Currently, about 20 companies are specialized in the design of chemistry robots of different sizes and levels of automation [15,16 Chapt. 19]. The robotized laboratory for chemical synthesis has to be connected with databases for building blocks, for reaction information, and for library information.The tools for data analysis should be accessible to the operator to design libraries and lead optimization in cooperation with specialists for screening, bioinformatics, database management, computational and medicinal chemistry, and for compound characterization. 

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