Science can be a messy business! Many fields of study like chemistry and biology require the handling of liquids, some of which can be quite dangerous! We have all heard about nervous lab technicians fumbling a vial of some deadly liquid so that it spills, causing an explosion or the outbreak of a deadly disease!
Because of the human penchant for error, the less we imperfect beings have to handle volatile liquids during scientific research and activities, the better! Modern science has come a long way toward eliminating the need for human hands to be involved thanks to the development of the automated liquid handler that can take over the job and do it perfectly with a minuscule chance of a fumble! It’s not only safer but provides more accurate results!
Let’s examine some of the benefits of automated liquid handling:
An automated liquid handler is able to move various amounts of liquids from one container to another. This process might sound pretty simple, but it is one of the most essential elements of laboratory testing. Liquid handling systems can work with extremely small amounts of liquid like 1 microlitre. It can also work with liquids of varying viscosity, from thick to thin.
An automated liquid handling system performs its liquid transfers with the aid of a computerised system. The lab’s technicians are able to program in the parameters and amounts of the liquid, then the machine takes it from there. The automated system’s robotic arm moves and dispenses a specific volume of liquid to the chosen container. Some systems are equipped with the ability to perform tasks like heating and cooling that will ensure the liquid handling process is precise and efficient.
The following are some of the processes that can benefit from automated handling systems:
- Liquid biopsies
- Nucleic acid preparation
- Bio array or spot printing workstations
- PCR setup
- Solid phase extraction
- Next generation sequencing
- Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- Liquid-liquid extraction
Manual liquid handling is not only risky, but time-consuming and repetitive. Manual liquid handling puts stress on human muscles and joints which can lead to repetitive movement injuries and conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, so relieving technicians of such a repetitive manual task helps prevent on the job injuries. Using automated liquid handlers frees up your staff from that toil so they can focus on those parts of the research where their expertise is most useful. The automatic liquid handler greatly speeds up the pipetting and dispensing process while eliminating the possibility of human error.
Accuracy and precision are vital to scientific research. The automated liquid handling system removes the chance of human mistakes from the equation providing more consistent results and data. It’s an unfortunate fact that manual liquid handling runs a significant risk of compromising the data’s accuracy and quality, leading to errors and the need to perform expensive reruns of failed experiments. The guaranteed precision and accuracy that automated liquid handling provides also saves time and money because the machine’s greater speed allows for a greater workload to be accomplished in a much shorter period.
Automated liquid handling fulfils its duties in scientific undertakings without spilling a drop.