New solutions save time and money

Turnover of laboratory and analytical equipment increased once again in 2008. Customised automation solutions, which enhance throughput yet cost less, are becoming increasingly common in the laboratory environment. Miniaturisation and combinations of different techniques are standard features of today’s analytic separation technology in applications such as bioanalysis.

At this point in time, it is difficult to predict what effects the global crisis is likely to have on the future performance of the industry. However, typical sales markets such as food inspection are growth markets, and this should help sustain an expansion of turnover. There is also increased demand for analysis systems in the healthcare and environmental sectors in emerging markets such as Latin America, and demand for high-quality laboratory equipment is expected to increase in those regions.

Flexible automation drives development of tailored solutions

The laboratory and analytical technology industry produces high-tech analysis equipment, provides laboratory outfitting and set-up services, supplies consumables and laboratory accessories, and delivers complete laboratory IT solutions. The products and services are used in a range of applications, for example, food and quality control, environmental analysis, material testing, routine pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical laboratory work and R&D.

Automation remains of the major future trends in the laboratory industry. Automation reduces human resource requirements. Repetitive analysis operations can be conducted in parallel, and sample throughput can be increased significantly. A higher level of automation generally reduces cost per analysis over the life of the system, and it enhances occupational safety.

Response times improve, too, which is an important consideration in quality check laboratories.

Automated or semi-automated systems are used in nearly every sector of the laboratory analysis industry. To cope with the permanently increasing cost pressure and a large emergence of samples, clinical-medical routine laboratories install more and more total laboratory automation systems. These automation solutions enable the interconnection of laboratory apparatus for sample preparation, analytics and post-analytics via belt conveyors, so that the samples can be scanned, centrifuged, unplugged, analysed and afterwards be archived fully automated. The automation allows an elevated sample throughput with reduced personnel commitment and shorter average lead times. Besides the cost and time saving, the sample processing can be standardised and the laboratory personnel can be relieved from recurring routine work.

But standard solutions are often no longer sufficient for today’s applications. Modular design is becoming the solution of choice, because the equipment can be tailored to individual needs. Customers also prefer compact, user-friendly systems that can be quickly converted for use in other applications. For instance, flexible pipetting stations, which can be easily embedded into exiting workflows, are replacing universal pipetting systems in liquid handling applications.

Sample preparation rather than the actual analysis is often the major time constraint. A number of manual, time-intensive steps are often needed to extract or enrich the analytes.

Solutions such as automated solid phase extraction (SPE) and headspace analysis via gas chromatography accelerate and simplify sample preparation, improve repeatability and increase yields. When used in conjunction with GC/MS, automated dynamic headspace techniques, for example, make the process of detecting decomposition markers for quality control of oil and fat that contain polyunsaturated fatty acids quicker and more reliable. Except for sample weighing, the entire sequence starting with the addition of standard solutions right through to sample injection can be automated.

Automated dosing systems are now also available to weigh samples. These systems ensure that the weight of very small samples can be determined and that the results of the weighing operation are reproducible. The devices control the dosing operation and save all of the relevant sample data. Automation eliminates the need for manual, error-prone weighing with a spatula. This is particularly important when users are weighing very expensive or toxic substances, and it also facilitates seamless documentation, which is mandatory in pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories.

Miniaturisation and combinations of techniques reduce cost and analysis time

Miniaturisation provides a way of processing samples in parallel and reducing costs by cutting material consumption in many applications. For example, biochips and microarrays have become standard tools for conducting parallel analysis at many research institutions.

Several hundred or even a thousand analyses can be performed on a sample simultaneously on a surface that is hardly larger than a fingernail. Demand for biochips, which are used in a variety of research, drug development, food analysis and diagnostic applications, is expected to increase in coming years.

Miniaturisation and combinations of techniques are also a major feature of analytical separation technology. Multidimensional, miniaturised separation and coupling using a variety of detectors speed up the analysis process. Increased selectivity provides the capability to analyse complex material, for example in the biotechnology industry.

Miniaturisation also reduces sample dilution, which is an important consideration in proteome research. As only a few pico-moles of protein are often available, capillary or nano-columns are used to separate the complex samples. Chip-size systems for multidimensional chromatographic separation can be combined with nano-electrospray ionisation to detect analytes.