OpenWetWare:Equipment/Laboratory Automation

Vincent 16:12, 25 May 2007 (EDT):During the last couple of months I have been evaluating some Lab Automation platforms. This page intends to list stuff I have learnt about the current technologies around. Feel free to edit its content or to add your own experience with Lab Automation equipments.

=Laboratory Automation =


 * What Lab Automation has to offer ?
 * Use of integrated automated/robotic equipments to perform standard wet lab protocols.
 * Possible Benefits:
 * Accuracy
 * Reproducibility and systematic approach
 * High throughput
 * No sleep/ No food needed (the last known weaknesses of PhDs/Post Docs ...)
 * Advanced integrated platform could help you to directly map your lab activities into a informatoin workflow from stocks to research findings, improving traceability and reliability.
 * Quantify and track the variability you introduce in your protocols. And consequently, you should get a better idea of the intrinsic variability of the process you observe.
 * Use a Design of Experiments approach to optimize your protocols.
 * A high level description of protocols could allow to build arepository of standard protocols (so far, each platform has it own script language).

Pipetting technologies

 * Air based
 * Liquid based(more accurate than air based techno)
 * Features to look at:
 * liquid level detection and tracking
 * clot detection
 * washable and/or disposable probes
 * max and min volumes.
 * accuracy at different pipetting volumes.
 * ability to define liquid classes to adjust pipetting parameters to the nature of the liquid.

Gripper: Moving stuff around

 * enables you to move around tubes, plates.
 * having the ability to rotate the gripper can be a huge plus.
 * essential tool to get an integrated workflow with 3rd-party equipments (plate reader, PCR ...)

Utilities

 * Managing your deck space (what is where).
 * Building your protocols (scripts)
 * System calibration

Connectivity

 * Software:
 * database handling (internal and external ones)
 * communication protocols: RS232, CAN, CSV files
 * Hardware:

Automation friendly equipments

 * PCR machine:
 * Plate reader:
 * Centrifuge:
 * Incubator:
 * Shakers:
 * Peltier units:

Products evaluated

 * Eppendorf
 * Perkin Elmer
 * Sias
 * Tecan

Links

 * Association for lab automation
 * Lab Automation on Wikipedia
 * Nature: Lab automation and robotics: Automation on the move (Tim Chapman)
 * Science: Robotic Laboratory Automation (James Boyd)