New SLAS Technology Auto-Commentary by the Authors of "Analytical Measurements and Efficient Process Generation Using a Dual-Arm Robot Equipped with Electronic Pipettes" Now Available

Oak Brook, IL (USA) — Feb. 28, 2019 — In a new SLAS Technology auto-commentary, the authors of “Analytical Measurements and Efficient Process Generation Using a Dual-Arm Robot Equipped with Electronic Pipettes,” an article recently published in Energies, highlight and discuss the main findings of their novel integration of electronic piston pipettes into an automation system using a dual-arm robot to perform liquid handling tasks similar to human operators.

In contrast to well-automated bioscreening processes, analytical measurement processes are either less automated or not automated at all. This occurs (or does not occur) due to the complex process structure, which includes several subprocesses since sample preparation steps are required prior to the analysis (e.g., liquid-liquid and solid-phase extractions, chromatography separations, sonication, filtration, derivatization). Furthermore, samples, chemicals and reagents are handled using a wide variety of single vessels with individual shapes and volumes making the automation system’s flexibility one of the key challenges, especially with reference to the generation of liquid handling tasks. Therefore, the idea of automated processes identical to manual processes performed by human operators can be realized using a human-like robot.

The study references an example for a successful transfer of sample preparation processes to a dual-arm robotic system (15 degrees of freedom) equipped with conventional manual and software-controlled electronic pipettes. The dual-arm robot acts as a flexible robot executing transportation tasks and actively manipulating the samples, which allows for the number of transportation steps to be significantly decreased using electronic pipettes that simplify liquid handling, therefore increasing systems efficiency.

This new auto-commentary can be accessed at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2472630318825335 for 60 days. For more information about SLAS and its journals, visit www.slas.org/publications/slas-technology/.

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SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of 19,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS Discovery: 2017 Impact Factor 2.355. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN (USA). SLAS Discovery (Advancing Life Sciences R&D) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS).

SLAS Technology: 2017 Impact Factor 2.632. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore). SLAS Technology (Translating Life Sciences Innovation) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA).

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