Sample preparation robotics

The automation of sample preparation is clearly a requirement if one wants to measure a reasonably high number of test compounds. While sample changers have been used for a long time in analytical NMR laboratories, sample preparation robots have been introduced only recently, especially in the field of biomolecular NMR. They offer the great advantage that the samples are freshly prepared under identical conditions and delivered to the NMR instrument in a just-in-time fashion. Thus, they circumvent the disadvan-... 

Fig. 2.8 Broad (A) and detailed (B) views of a gel and sample preparation robot (WARPA7) for the GPC spin column/ESI-MS methodology. For panel (A) note the centrifuge (right end of table), shaker, sample reservoirs and robot arm with a 96-well pipettor. Reprinted from reference [15] with permission from the American Chemical Society.

Overview. Polychlorinated Biphenyls. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Determination. Polymers Natural Rubber Synthetic Polyurethanes. Quality Assurance Quality Control Instrument Calibration Interlaboratory Studies Reference Materials Production of Reference Materials Method Validation Accreditation Clinical Applications Water Applications. Sample Handling Comminution of Samples Sample Preservation Automated Sample Preparation Robotics. Sampling Theory Practice. Solvents. Supercritical Fluid Chromatography Overview Applications. Vitamins Overview Fat-Soluble. 

Overview Sample Handling Glucose Sarcosine, Creatine, and Creatinine Inborn Errors of Metabolism. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Environmental Applications. Sample Handling Comminution of Samples Automated Sample Preparation Robotics. Sampling Theory. 

Within the field, however, the greatest need for improvement is in sample preparation. Currently, several companies can provide sample preparation robots to perform a range of tasks, from the detection and slicing of gel electrophoresis... 

To date, the vast majority of experiments in which liquid separation techniques have been coupled with MALDI have utilized off-line fraction collection. The availability of MALDI sample preparation robots has facilitated the preparation of hundreds of samples as discrete spots on the target plate in a short time frame. If the fraction collection is triggered by detection of a UV signal (or other analytical detector), then MS analysis can be focused only on the chromatographic regions which contain the most abundant analytes. In addition, fraction collection allows... 

FIGURE 3 (A) An example of Zymate TPWII sample preparation robot. Reprinted from... 

Because of the complexity of sample preparation, backscatter measurement geometry (see Fig. 3.19) is the choice for an in situ planetary Mossbauer instrument [36, 47 9]. No sample preparation is required, because the instmment is simply presented to the sample for analysis. On MER, the MIMOS II SH is mounted on a robotic arm that places it in physical contact with the analysis target (e.g., rock or soil) [36, 37]. 

Fig. 8.28 External view of the MIMOS II sensor head without contact plate assembly (left) MIMOS II sensor head mounted on the robotic arm (IDD) of the Mars Exploration Rover. The IDD also carries the a-Particle-X-ray Spectrometer APXS, also from Mainz, Germany, for elemental analysis, the Microscope Imager MI for high resolution microscopic pictures ( 30 pm per pixel), and the RAT for sample preparation (brushing grinding drilling (< 1 cm depth)). Picture taken at Kennedy-Space-Center KSC, Florida, USA...

In the last several years, on-line extraction systems have become a popular way to deal with the analysis of large numbers of water samples. Vacuum manifolds and computerized SPE stations were all considered to be off-line systems, i.e., the tubes had to be placed in the system rack and the sample eluate collected in a test-tube or other appropriate vessel. Then, the eluted sample had to be collected and the extract concentrated and eventually transferred to an autosampler vial for instrumental analyses. Robotics systems were designed to aid in these steps of sample preparation, but some manual sample manipulation was still required. Operation and programming of the robotic system could be cumbersome and time consuming when changing methods. 

Table 4.15 fists the many possibilities for solid sampling for GC analysis. In general, sample preparation should be considered in close conjunction with injection. Robotic sample processors have been introduced for automatic preparation, solvent extraction and injection of samples for GC and GC-MS analyses. Usually, facilities are included for solvent, reagent, and standard additions and for derivatisation of samples. 

The European Molecular Biology Laboratory s (EMBL s) offers a well-equipped pro-teomics laboratory in its facilities at the Proteomics Visitor Facility (Heidelberg, Germany). The services in MB concern protein isolation, imaging, and robotics sample preparation, supported by some other analytical facilities. 

Robot arm system for sample preparation with different workstations (reproduced by permission of Zymark Corporation). 

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. 

MS has recently been used to measure compounds with significant levels of impurities and solubilities below the quantitation limits of other methods. Guo et al.46 described the use of LC/MS for solubility measurements in buffer solutions in a 96-well plate. Fligge et al.47 discussed an automated high-throughput method for classification of compound solubility. They integrated a Tecan robotic system for sample preparation in 384-well plates and fast LC/MS for concentration measurement. This approach is limited by LC/MS throughput. 

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. 

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