{"id":4770,"date":"2020-04-09T22:28:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T22:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/blog\/setting-a-new-bar-for-benchtop-automation\/"},"modified":"2022-10-03T18:56:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T18:56:35","slug":"setting-a-new-bar-for-benchtop-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/blog\/setting-a-new-bar-for-benchtop-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting a New Bar for Benchtop Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Laboratory automation is quickly becoming a critical component of the modern lab, streamlining pharmaceutical, life science and analytical LC-MS workflows.\u00a0 Automation of routine and complex sample preparation helps minimize variability, improve traceability and simplify method transfer, ultimately bringing improved efficiency to the lab and allowing scientists to spend more time on value-added tasks.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, laboratory automation can mean different things to different people, encompassing a simple automated plate washer and basic pipettors all the way to fully equipped discovery hubs like the newly launched L2S2<sup>1<\/sup> (Lilly Life Sciences Studio Lab) in San Diego. Emotional reactions to laboratory automation can also vary greatly \u2013 from excitement for the future and the promise of digital transformation as part of Industry 4.0, all the way to fear: the daunting fear that automation will be painful to adopt.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that not every lab is a candidate for full-blown, high throughput automation.\u00a0 In fact, many scientists and technicians just need an extra \u201cset of hands\u201d so that they can work on higher priority tasks \u2013 like the upstream design of experiments and downstream data analysis and interpretation. Removing the burden of tedious work allows scientists to get to answers and make decisions more quickly; it allows them to confidently move on with their research, and in labs at pharmaceutical and contract testing labs, it ultimately moves the right molecules closer to becoming commercialized therapeutics.<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone needs to run hundreds of samples at a time, and teams can\u2019t always designate a \u201csuper user\u201d to program the liquid handling system for the lab.<\/p>\n<p>This is where the sweet spot of benchtop automation comes in to play.\u00a0 When very high sample throughput isn\u2019t required, a benchtop solution should provide the following benefits:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Quality data: Minimizes variability for added confidence<\/li>\n<li>Efficiency gains: Reduces number of mundane tasks for the scientist<\/li>\n<li>Walk away capability: Enables a scientist or technician to spend time on more important work<\/li>\n<li>Accessibility: adoption should be pain-free \u2013 the system needs to be easy to learn, easy to use, and easy to maintain<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The holy grail would be a system with bonus features:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Flexibility\n<ul>\n<li>Can process different numbers of samples with minimal programming<\/li>\n<li>Is portable and can easily be moved for use in a fume hood or walk-in fridge<\/li>\n<li>Accommodates multiple operations like shaking, heating and cooling<\/li>\n<li>Can be used in support of a wide range of analytical workflows, not limited to up-front sample prep for LC-MS and for Next Generation Sequencing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Method transfer: Ability to easily share methods for consistency across teams<\/li>\n<li>Traceability: if a method fails, built-in intelligence pinpoints the source of the error<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And ultimately, the system should be affordable.<\/p>\n<p>Enter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andrewalliance.com\/\">Andrew Alliance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Andrew Alliance portfolio includes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andrewalliance.com\/electronic-pipettes\/\"><strong>Pipette+<\/strong><\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andrewalliance.com\/pipetting-robot\/\"><strong>Andrew+ liquid handling robot<\/strong><\/a>, supported by additional connected devices and tools, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.andrewalliance.com\/laboratory-software\/\"><strong>OneLab<\/strong><\/a>, an intuitive cloud-native software that enables fast, flexible and traceable sample preparation capability.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8630 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/andrew_isolated-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>It is the lab assistant that works with you, so you can be more productive together.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re building out complex protocols or streamlining basic sample preparation like serial dilution or plate transfer, implementing automation in your lab doesn\u2019t need to be difficult. It doesn\u2019t have to break the bank, and it can be easy to deploy, yielding time-savings and confidence.<\/p>\n<p>Intrigued? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/waters\/en_US\/Sample-Preparation-Automation-Solutions\/nav.htm?cid=134937015&amp;alias=automate_CBU&amp;locale=en_US\">Learn more<\/a> about the Andrew+ robot and Pipette+ \u2026 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waters.com\/waters\/en_US\/Sample-Preparation-Automation-Solutions\/nav.htm?cid=134937015&amp;alias=automate_CBU&amp;locale=en_US\">try OneLab+ for free<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Get automated. It\u2019s easier than you think.<\/p>\n<h5><sup>1<\/sup>L2S2: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ms5_npR0c34\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ms5_npR0c34<\/a><\/h5>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Laboratory automation is quickly becoming a critical component of the modern lab, streamlining pharmaceutical, life science and analytical LC-MS workflows.\u00a0 Automation of routine and complex sample preparation helps minimize variability, improve traceability and simplify method transfer, ultimately bringing improved efficiency to the lab and allowing scientists to spend more time on value-added tasks. 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