Robotics liquid handling

An automated log P workstation using a shake-flask method and robotic liquid handling in 96-well plate format is commercially available [30]. The system is equipped with a diode-array spectrophotometer and equimolar nitrogen detector. 

Automation using a robotic liquid handling system eliminated most of the tedious steps encountered with traditional manual extraction procedures. Automated 96-well SPE and LLE techniques using robotic liquid handlers have been successfully implemented to support high-throughput bioanalysis.5... 

Typical protein precipitation procedures use one volume of plasma plus three to six volumes of acetonitrile or methanol (or a mixture) with the internal standard at an appropriate concentration for the assay. Poison et al.102 reported that protein precipitation using acetonitrile eliminates at least 95% of the proteins after filtration or centrifugation, the supernatant can often be directly injected into the HPLC/MS/MS system. Usually this step is performed using 96-well plates that are ideal for semi-automation of sample preparation. Briem et al.103 reported on a robotic sample preparation system for plasma based on a protein precipitation step and a robotic liquid handling system that increased throughput by a factor of four compared to a manual system. 

Dehring, K.A. et al. 2004. Automated robotic liquid handling/laser-based nephelometry system for high throughput measurement of kinetic aqueous solubility. J. Pharm. Biomed. Anal. 36 447. 

Nassar, A. E., and Adams, P. E. (2003). Metabolite characterization in drug discovery utilizing robotic liquid-handling, quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometry and in-silico prediction. Curr. Drug. Metab. 4 259-271. 

Figure 1-3 A, PC-controlled diluting and/or dispensing apparatus that aspirates and dispenses preset volumes of either one or two different liquids, such as a diluent and sample by means of motor-driven syringes. (Courtesy Hamilton Co.) B, Robotic liquid handling worlcstations. (Courtesy Hamilton Co.)...

Profile Founded in 1980, the company is involved in the development and manufacture of robotic liquid-handling systems, automated sample processors,... 

Dehring KA, Workman H, Miller K, Mandagere A, and Poole S. Automated Robotic Liquid Handling/Laser-based System for High Throughput Measurement of Kinetic Aqueous Solubility. /P/tam Biomed Anal 2004 35 447-456. 

Keywords automation, robotics robotic liquid handling, scripting, Visual Basic, LIMS, XML, LC/MS/MS. 

Laycock, J.D. Jaramilla, J. Zhang, L. Smithson, A. Mallard, S. Miller, K.J. Optimized Plasma Sample Collection Procedures to Minimize Clot Formation Prior to Robotic Liquid Handling, paper presented at LabAutomatlon2003, February 2-5, 2003, Palm Springs, CA. 

SPA technology requires only pipetting steps and there is no need to use scintillation cocktails or to perform a separation, and thus it is ideally suited for automation by robotic liquid handling systems. However, as a consequence of the nonseparation SPA method and due to the screening of colored synthetic or natural compounds, it is essential that the detection instrument accurately assesses the level of color quenching and corrects the observed count rate (cpm) to the true activity (dpm) [49]. 

Fregeau, C., Yensen, C., Elliott, I, and Foumey, R. (2007) Optimized configuration of fixed tip robot liquid handling stations for the elimination of biological sample cross contamination. Journal of Laboratory Automation, 12, 339 354. 

Robotic Liquid-Handling Systems In Vitro DDI Assays... 

Designs of robotic liquid-handling systems have great flexibility to fit the needs of the user, such as aspirating, dispensing, mixing, and moving culture plates... 

Recently, the use of 96-well SPE formats for extractions, automated using a robotic liquid-handling system, allows high throughput sample preparation. 

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