Controlling laboratory workflow

A critical requirement for a large laboratory is software to control laboratory workflow while managing the data produced in the laboratory. This software covers manual as well as automated laboratory activities, including experiment scheduling and setup, robot control, raw-data capture and archiving, multiple stages of preliminary analysis and quality control, and release of final results. Additionally, it should allow the coordination of these activities both intellectually manageable and operationally efficient. 

In droplet-based microfluidics, these reaction vessels are formed by droplets of a dispersed phase, which are embedded into a continuous phase. Both liquid phases are immiscible. A huge amount of such droplet reactors can be generated, transported, controlled, and processed in parallel in a droplet-based lab-on-a-chip device. These devices can be characterized as application specific microfiuidic networks that implement and automate a conventional laboratory workflow in a microfluidic chip device or system. They are built up by appropriately intercoimecting microfluidic operation units, which provide the required laboratory operations at the microscale. Consequently, for each conventional laboratory operation, its microscale counterpart is required. 

In our laboratories, a cycle time of 90 sec can be achieved with a dilution factor of 1 25 for a given sample concentration, allowing the purity and identity control of two and a half 384-well microtiter plates per day. The online dilution eliminated an external step in the workflow and reduced the risks of decomposition of samples in the solvent mixture (weakly acidic aqueous solvent) required for analysis. Mao et al.23 described an example in which parallel sample preparation reduced steps in the workflow. They described a 2-min cycle time for the analysis of nefazodone and its metabolites for pharmacokinetic studies. The cycle time included complete solid phase extraction of neat samples, chromatographic separation, and LC/MS/MS analysis. The method was fully validated and proved rugged for high-throughput analysis of more than 5000 human plasma samples. Many papers published about this topic describe different methods of sample preparation. Hyotylainen24 has written a recent review. 

An AWM tracks the progress of laboratory samples through the entire course of an analysis. The laboratory receives a continual stream of samples, each of which is subject to a series of tests and analyses. A second key requirement for workflow management is to control what happens as the workflow s steps are carried out The right programs have to execute in the right order, user input has to be obtained at the right points, and so on. 

Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is a type of laboratory software that is designed typically to manage sample-oriented data entry and workflows in the quality control area of commercial production laboratories. 

Originally, all CDS were control and evaluation systems of one instrument manufacturer. The aim was to provide a better and more convenient control of the in-house HPLC and GC instruments. As the solutions were always focused on the own instrument hardware, almost every manufacturer uses his own system to connect instruments to the computer hardware. Besides standardized formats such as IEEE488 Bus Waters Agilent), there can be found serial interfaces, later on often USB ports or proprietary connections. In correlation with standardized communication protocols, this can lead to incompatibiUties, why some laboratories have decided to use several CDS each having its particular data system. In order to decrease the effort that arises from training laboratory staff and multiple installations, maintenances, and software validations, companies aim to decrease the number of CDS in their laboratories to a minimum. Having the focus on one CDS helps to define a unique workflow and ensures a consistent documentation of the processes. 

The output of an analytical laboratory is information that is reported to the client and often affects further actions and decisions. A major function of a LIMS is to improve the efficiency of report generation. In order to facilitate this process, report templates can be established that are automatically triggered when a step in the workflow is completed. Analysis results, billing, turnaround time, instrument calibration and control charts, justification and inventory are just a few of the common reports that can be triggered. Because of the variety of clients that analytical laboratories interact with, report... 

---