Lab Manager Insights Buyers Report May 2012 : Page 2CONTENTS INSIGHTS ON AUTOMATED LIQUID HANDLING $OODUWLFOHVE\ $QJHOR'H3DOPD�f;3K' ,7Ŏ612721/<$%2877+528*+387 As it evolved from a specialized, expert-driven instrument system to a generalized laboratory workstation, ALH has become more accessible to more workers in more labs. Automation vendors have achieved this despite the uniqueness of ALH workfl ows. 4 +2:72.((3<285$/+5811,1*60227+/< Service and maintenance for liquid handling equipment are approximately the same as for a liquid chromatography system, but the type of service differs. All vendors offer typical levels of on-site service, with premium plans including preventive maintenance visits. 7 *2,1*$8720$7('0($16025( &216,67(1&<$1')5(('20 For companies processing hundreds or thousands of plates per day, one could build a business case for switching to an automated pipetting system on throughput alone. These kinds of highly parallel, high-throughput workfl ows are relatively rare, however. 10 $6.7+(86(56 In this Q&A, fi ve expert end-users from both academia and industry discuss the automated liquid handling systems they use in their labs, what they are used for, and how they went about choosing the systems. 12 Angelo DePalma is a freelance writer living in Newton, NJ . You may reach him at angelo@depalma.com 2 ,16,*+76 May 2012 www.labmanager.com/insights Publication List |
