Lab Automation
system liquid, to consistently and accurately dis- pense volumes from the nanolitre to the microlitre range. Each system is built for specific laboratory applications. The mosquito® HTS, for example, is designed for cost-effective assay miniaturisation and provides precise multichannel pipetting from 25nL to 1.2µL. The user-friendly instrument max- imises sample use through ultra-low dead volumes as small as 0.2µL, enabling high speed serial dilu- tions and allowing a full set of dose response curves to be prepared in minutes using less than 2µL of stock solution. The mosquito® Xtal3, by contrast, is designed for protein crystallisation applications and facilitates all of the common crys- tallisation screening techniques, including hanging drop, sitting drop, microbatch and seeding or addi- tive screening plate preparation. TTP Labtech’s newest liquid handling platform,
the dragonfly® discovery, has been designed to reduce assay development time and improve HTS efficiency, as well as enabling hit-to-lead and lead optimisation workflows. The easy-to-use system boasts precise non-contact dispensing across a broad dynamic range (200nL to 4mL) from up to 10 independently-controlled positive displacement disposable tips.
User-friendly liquid handling systems are removing barriers to adoption Across all areas of drug discovery, pharmaceutical companies remain under pressure to do more with less, using streamlined workflows that shorten the time required to turn ideas into innovations. Faced with the need to adopt the most efficient tech- niques, laboratories and their staff can find them- selves with an overwhelming variety of new tech-
Figure 3
Easy-to-use, form-based user interface on the Agilent AssayMAP Bravo Platform
nologies and methods that require specialist exper- tise to operate. Flexible, easy-to-use liquid han- dling systems that can be implemented as quickly as possible are therefore highly prized. “Within the labs, operators are also being tasked
with more instruments, more assays, and more automation,” says Hal Wehrenberg, Head of Product Management at Tecan. “To keep up with these demands, liquid handling and automation systems must actually help users through intuitive interfaces, rather than creating an additional layer of complexity. Ideally these interfaces should be customised to the exact needs of the lab and con- vey information visually to make workflows as easy-to-use as possible.” However, automated liquid handling systems
have traditionally been perceived as challenging to use, with difficult-to-navigate user interfaces posing a considerable barrier to their broader adoption. Fortunately, many equipment vendors have listened to the scientific community, with some of the latest generation of automated liquid handling systems being easier to operate than ever before. These sys- tems are providing much greater ease of access, while still maintaining the powerful functionality that is required to get the most from complex auto- mated workflows, ultimately helping more compa- nies access the operational efficiencies and improved measurement accuracy associated with increased automation. “Not so long ago, you’d find many laboratory
technicians being overwhelmed by the look and feel of the user interface of automated liquid han- dling systems. Even with graphical components to help with the navigation, user interfaces were not always flexible enough to allow minor alterations
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Drug Discovery World Winter 2018/19
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