LabAutomation 2006 - SLAS

LabAutomation2006
4:30 pm Monday, January 23, 2006 Track 1: Detection & Separation Room: Catalina
Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
Claude Dufresne
Co-Author(s)
Merck Research Laboratories
Chris Napolitano
Rahway, New Jersey
Sal Siciliano
c_dufresne@merck.com
Jesus Martin
Scott Feighner
Don Conway
Neal Simpson
Gary Kath
The implementation of Remp Tube Storage Technology in support of Lead
Optimization Processes.
Over the past decade, many improvements have been made in automating and operating high throughput screening facilities, in the ‘hit
discovery’ phase of the drug discovery process. In comparison, relatively less attention has been paid to its downstream cousin, the ‘lead
optimization’ phase. As part of a larger initiative to apply intelligent industrialization to a greater number of processes, we have setup a
Facility for Automation and Screening Technology (‘FAST’) dedicated to supporting processes at the interface of medicinal chemistry and
biology laboratories.
Part of this operation consists of storing samples from active chemistry programs for rapid turnaround in order to provide assay-ready
plates to various therapeutic area biology groups. We selected the concept of multi-access tube racks as the basis of this storage. We
then implemented it using a REMP Small Size Store (SSS) which integrates a Tube Punching Module to handle the capped mini-tubes.
For the final integration into our liquid handling systems, we designed a custom automation instrument that integrates a REMP 8 channel
manual decapper with a REMP 2D Reatrix Barcode reader. This poster will describe how the technology is integrated and used.
10:30 am Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Track 1: Detection & Separation Room: Catalina
Wyndham Palm Springs Hotel
Terry D. Lee
Co-Author(s)
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
Jason Shih, Jun Xie, California Institute of Technology
Duarte, California
tdlee@coh.org
Yunan Miao, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
Yu-Chong Tai, California Institute of Technology
Chip Based Liquid Chromatography Systems
In recent years, there has been considerable research devoted to the development of microfluidic platforms capable of performing
small-scale separations. Nearly every type of electrophoretic or electrokinetic driven separation has been demonstrated in a chip-based
platform including: capillary electrophoresis (CE), isoelectric focusing (IEF), micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC), and capillary
electrochemical chromatography (CEC). This reflects a strong preference among researchers in the field for approaches where processes
can be controlled simply by adjusting voltage potentials at different points in the microfluidic system. Despite this considerable advantage
and the progress that has been made, there are a number of drawbacks, including the need to work with very high voltages; a strong
dependence of performance on the nature of the solvent system; limits to the range of sample types that can be analyzed; and difficulties
with interfacing to MS. LC is still the method of choice for many applications including many analytical methods in the field of proteomics.
Some progress has been made towards performing HPLC separations in chip-based platforms, but in most instances, a conventional
LC pumping system is used to provide the pressurized flow. We now report the fabrication of a chip based LC system where all of the
components including sample and solvent pumps, gradient mixer, reverse phase column, and electrospray source are contained on a single
chip. Key to the design is the use of an electrochemical pumping system capable of providing the high pressures required for adequate
LC separations. When interfaced to an ion trap mass spectrometer, the system is capable of performing LC-MS/MS analyses of complex
peptide mixtures, with results comparable to those obtained with state-of-the-art commercial systems. This presentation will also include
discussion of issues related to accurate flow control and gradient formation, and the interface to MALDI mass spectrometry.
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