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Cell-BasedAssays


these challenges are being overcome by various commercial products and services, some of which are outlined below.


Challenge 1: Adapting automated solutions to meet specific needs The requirements for automated systems vary widely among different laboratories, making it dif- ficult to adapt them to changing application parameters and environments. Fortunately, sys- tems such as Analytik Jena’s modular CyBio FeliX benchtop liquid handling platformand the Thermo Scientific™ Cytomat™ series of automated cell incubators are fully compatible with a wide range of laboratory automation solutions. This can help to simplify drug discovery workflows, even for very complex applications. “Every drug discovery project is unique and


there is no standard workflow to rely on, so one of the biggest challenges that laboratories face is hav- ing to integrate different automated systems and configurations for different projects,” says Rémi Magnan, Associate Director Cellomics & Proteomics at Tecan. “Customised platforms that integrate and configure the different modules can help optimise workflows to meet specific project needs.” Expert support services such as Tecan


Labwerx™ can design and create complex work- stations that integrate a wide range of automation systems, such as HCS imagers, multimode readers, flow cytometers, centrifuges, incubators and cell dispensers. The service aims to deliver customised


Figure 2


TheTecan Labwerx expert support service


workflows for highly complex projects to dramat- ically improve the laboratory’s efficiency and pro- ductivity.


Challenge 2: The automation of increasingly complex cellular assays As the complexity of cellular assays increases in drug discovery, so do the challenges associated with automating them. More physiologically-rele- vant 3D spheroid models, for example, have become a key tool, such as in the booming field of immuno-oncology. Spheroid tumour samples can be used to test which immune-mediated drugs are most efficacious in degrading tumours including, for individual patients’ tumours, to develop per- sonalised cancer-targeting medicines. However, 3D spheroid proliferation assays can


be difficult to automate due to the need to mon- itor the growth of spheroids kinetically over weeks using microscopy. Additionally, these assays require several different automation pro- cesses, including the initial assay set-up of cell seeding into spheroid microplates, automating the periodic imaging of the spheroids, while also maintaining cell health and performing media exchanges. Three benchtop systems developed by BioTek


Instruments are designed to be used in concert to fully automate 3D spheroid proliferation assays. The MultiFlo™ FX Multi-Mode Dispenser can be used to seed cells into spheroid microplates, while the Cytation™ 5 Cell ImagingMultiMode Reader, in conjunction with the BioSpa™ 8 Automated


26


Drug DiscoveryWorld Summer 2019


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