Liquid handling robot
Encyclopedia
Summary
A liquid handling robot is used in automationAutomation
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
of chemical or biochemical laboratories. It is a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
that dispenses a selected quantity of reagent
Reagent
A reagent is a "substance or compound that is added to a system in order to bring about a chemical reaction, or added to see if a reaction occurs." Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, a reactant is less specifically a "substance that is consumed in the course of...
, samples or other liquid to a designated container.
Versatility
The simplest version simply dispenses an allotted volumeVolume
Volume is the quantity of three-dimensional space enclosed by some closed boundary, for example, the space that a substance or shape occupies or contains....
of liquid from a motorized pipette
Pipette
A pipette is a laboratory tool used to transport a measured volume of liquid.-Use and variations:Pipettes are commonly used in molecular biology, analytical chemistry as well as medical tests...
or syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
; more complicated machines can also manipulate the position of the dispensers and containers (often a Cartesian coordinate robot
Cartesian coordinate robot
A cartesian coordinate robot is an industrial robot whose three principal axes of control are linear and are at right angles to each other. Among other advantages, this mechanical arrangement simplifies the Robot control arm solution...
) and/or integrate additional laboratory devices, such as centrifuges, microplate readers, heat sealers, heater/shakers, bar code readers, spectrophotometric devices, storage devices and incubators.
More complex liquid handling workstations can perform multiple Laboratory Unit Operations such as sample transport, sample mixing, manipulation and incubation, as well as transporting vessels to/from other workstations.
They can range from a specialized bench-top 8-channel DNA PCR processing robot, to a customized-for-process automated liquid handling system, such as the TECAN
Tecan
Tecan Group Ltd. is a global provider of laboratory instruments and solutions in biopharmaceuticals, forensics, and clinical diagnostics for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments and diagnostic laboratories....
Freedom EVO (shown on the right).