Screening automation liquid dispensers

For automated HTS screening Automated liquid handling robot equipped with a 384-well pin tool for dispensing small volumes of compound into microtiter plates. 

FIGURE 11.3 Levels of screen automation, (a) Workstation-based automation can be categorized as (1) batch automation in which plate stackers feed assay plates into each device and plate stacks are transported between devices manually and (2) automated workstations that include liquid dispensers and readers and can transfer plates between the two devices automatically, (b) In a fully automated system, transport of plates between devices is carried out by robotic arms and scheduling software. 

All the high-throughput screening automation platforms tend to have the same limited number of basic operations a method moving around microplates, dispensing liquids, a series of detectors, and incubators. The methods... 

In the initial stages of searching for active compounds, the number of compounds to be screened is often greater than 100,000 and can exceed 500,000. Even 1 million compounds or more may be screened in a single assay.14 For this reason, biochemical screens must be inexpensive and quick. Ideally, the screen is automated and performed by a robot. Solutions of all necessary reagents and compounds to be tested are loaded into the instrument. The robot, called a liquid handler, dispenses reagents and solutions into microtiter plates. 

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