Screening automation workstation-based

Based on the numbers of daily compound screens, a screening laboratory may choose a workstation or fully automated screen system (Figure 11.3) (Hamilton, 2002). A workstation-based screening platform can be set up quickly and requires less capital funding. The screening throughput with a workstation platform is relatively small—usually 20 to 100 plates per day in 8 hr. A fully automated robotic screen system requires 6 to 12 months for implementation and a minimum investment of... 

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. 

Automation of assays based on nearly every biochemical effect like enzymatic reactions, cell-surface receptor-, and intracellular receptor binding, protein-protein-, and protein-nucleic acid interaction, cell adhesion, etc. has been reported. Robotic systems used in biological screening can be devided into workstation-type systems [354] and integrated systems [355].Integrated systems are custom-made and allow one to integrate nearly every peripheral module necessary for screening courses. 

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