Affordable Automation: new link with AstraZeneca creates ground-breaking technology

Citation

(2001), "Affordable Automation: new link with AstraZeneca creates ground-breaking technology", Industrial Robot, Vol. 28 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2001.04928aab.007

Affordable Automation: new link with AstraZeneca creates ground-breaking technology

Affordable Automation: new link with AstraZeneca creates ground-breaking technology

Keywords Robotics, Through-put, Screening

Affordable Automation Limited, one of the UK's leading suppliers of bespoke, integrated robotic solutions, has teamed up with the international pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, to develop a ground-breaking new high through-put screening cell for laboratory use. The cell was officially launched in poster format at the recent Vancouver SBS Conference (see Plate 4).

Now protected by patents pending, the new cell was originally specified by AstraZeneca's research and development team at Charnwood in Loughborough, and was required to be both simple and inexpensive, with few moving parts, interchangeable equipment and a simple software architecture. Affordable Automation has achieved this by developing a small, flexible, liquid handling robotic cell, based around a radial robotic arm using microtitre plate stackers and Multidrops (from Labsystems). Using a quench-FRET protease assay as a model, AstraZeneca has established that this system is capable of ultra-high through-put screening, at the superior rate of 200 x 384 assay plates (approx. 75,000 samples) in a period of four hours.

Plate 4 Affordable HTS cell

The cell uses a CRS F3 robotic arm, programmed to remove empty plates from the base of each of four constant 50-plate input stacks and return completed assay plates to the top. This method avoids the need for restacking, minimising errors, improving reliability and reducing mechanical wear and tear. Part of the difficulty faced by the development team was the avoidance of down stack errors caused by the adhesion of two plates in a stack, as well as the imprecise location of plates being lowered from the stacker. Both issues were overcome by developing a down stack device using a compressed air ram capable of generating a negative pressure under the plate and holding it under vacuum. To prevent plate-handling errors, a feedback servo handling system was fitted to the robotic arm together with a barcode reader mounted below the gripper to read barcodes "on the fly".

This ultra-HTS cell will provide screening capabilities of up to 600 x 384 plates per extended working day – up to approx. 230,000 samples. AstraZeneca has already announced its intention to duplicate this unique new system in order to double its capacity, together with the development of further cells containing readers that would allow stackers to be moved from liquid handling cells to reader cells for measurement.

Tony Evans, managing director of Affordable Automation, is delighted by the success of the new AstraZeneca cell:

The ultra-HTS cell met the specification at a cost far below industry norm, yet during a five-day continuous testing period, no failures were recorded from a total of 24,000 x 384 plates moved. This success marks the beginning of a long-term strategic relationship for us and we are looking forward to further developments in this field.

For further information, please contact Tony Evans, Affordable Automation, Unit 21, The Bridgewater Centre, Robson Avenue, Urmston, Manchester M41 7TE, UK. Tel: +44 (0)161 747 1890; Fax: +44(0)161 747 1891.