Advancements in Robotic Liquid Handling
Laboratory Equipment (05/07) Weiss, Craig

One of the most rapidly expanding fields of robotics is automated liquid handling (including pipetting, diluting, dispensing, and washing), and such tools have taken great strides in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and technological sophistication, fueled by the need for high throughput screening. The risks of handheld pipetting errors as well as accuracy/precision mistakes can be avoided through the employment of automated liquid handling. Interest in stackers and robotic arms has been increasing thanks to their ease of use and installation, and the time and effort they save. As technical acceptability increases and prices become more affordable, the tools will be more widely adopted. Also hastening adoption is increased user-friendliness of the automated liquid handling systems' control software--one example is the Thermo Scientific Matrix Hydra DT, which offers on-board programming or intuitive graphic-based PC software. Users' demand for more flexible platforms is growing as automated liquid handling and robotics migrates into the research domain. Liquid handling robotics account for the largest portion of the lab automation industry, and sales of automated liquid handling equipment have collectively amounted to approximately $750 million over the last four decades. More automated liquid handling systems and robotics will be recruited to carry out various routine procedures at a faster speed as time goes on.
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Safety Concerns Grow as Food Imports Surge
Christian Science Monitor (05/08/07) P. 2 ; Wood, Daniel B.

Concerns about the safety of the U.S. food supply are increasing, but observers and critics cannot agree on how to enhance the monitoring of food imports from the more than 130 countries that ship food to the United States. Critics of the U.S. food inspection system say that problems with the system have been mounting for years. "Our food inspection system in America is broken and collapsing further all the time," says Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.). The Bioterrorism Preparedness Act was passed into law in 2002 with the aim of increasing the safety of the U.S. food supply, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently capable of inspecting just a small fraction of the millions of food shipments that arrive from overseas. "We have all known for years that the FDA doesn't have enough money or inspectors to do what they need to because of congressional budget cutting," says Jenny Scott of the Food Products Association.
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Lab-on-a-Chip Device From Berkeley Lab to Speed Proteomics Research
AScribe Newswire (05/02/07)

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created the first monolithic interface to link mass spectrometry and silicon/silica-based microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" technologies to further the shift from genomics, or the study of genes, to proteomics, or the study of gene proteins. Mass spectrometry is used to separate the peptides that make up proteins, while microfluidics involves the placement of biological fluids on a microprocessor chip to analyze these proteins. Prior to the development of the Berkeley Lab's new interface, mass spectrometry and microfluidics were separate processes. "Ours is the first report of a silicon/silica microfluidic channel that is integrated monolithically with a multinozzle nanoelectrospray emitter," says Daojing Wang of the Berkeley Lab's proteomics research group.
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Understanding Nanotechnology
Chemical & Engineering News (04/16/07) Vol. 85 , No. 16 , P. 35 ; Morrissey, Susan R.

Nanotechnology has become a field plagued with increasing debates, as inchoate research conflicts with the policymakers' agendas. Fields such as toxicology can take years to yield scientific data, often lagging behind urgency of policy implementation. However, "policymakers are being conservative in their estimates about the safety of nanotechnology," says E. Clayton Teague of the National Nanotechnology Office. Evaluating nanotechnology's risks have led to improved scientific research, Teague adds. Project for Emerging Nanotechnologies' chief scientist Andrew D. Maynard says although current nanotechnology research is generally unspecific, scientists must find a medium between exploratory research and focused nanotechnology research. Maynard says it is important to note research is not the sole factor in ensuring successful nanotechnology products, as public opinion essentially accounts for the technology's acceptance.
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USDA Hosts Specialty Crop Research Workshop
Kansas City infoZine (04/26/07)

To assist producers in the specialty crop industry, advanced technologies like robotics, automation, sensors, and precision agriculture are needed, said participants at a recent workshop hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To that end, the Bush administration has recommended the creation of a federally funded Specialty Crop Research Initiative to develop science-based equipment for the industry. The initiative would fund research in genetics, genomics, and plant breeding to improve crop safety and quality. The plan includes developing new technological methods for applying nutrients, water, and pesticides in an effective and efficient way. The proposal also calls for improved mechanization to reduce dependence on labor and enhance productivity. The Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) program would also be funded by the initiative; TASC's projects address technical, phytosanitary, and sanitary barriers that prevent U.S. specialty crops from being exported.
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AMRI Leads CancerGrid Project Grid
Today (04/26/07)

The CancerGrid Project, spearheaded by Albany Molecular Research Inc. (AMRI), will join together 10 life sciences companies and universities in the use of grid computing to develop innovative cancer treatments. Using a network of linked workstations will enable copious amounts of data to be processed in a relatively short period of time. According to Michael Guaciaro of AMRI's European division, "This innovative project utilizes grid-based computing technology for the automated design of chemical libraries, with the goal of discovering potential cancer treatments." Also involved in the three-year project are Inte:Ligand, Tallinn University of Technology, University of Helsinki, GKI Economic Research Co., Computer Automation Research Institute, DAC Srl, University of Bari, University Pompeu Fabra, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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MultiGEN Diagnostics Installs Franek Technologies' Laboratory Power Protection System After Power Interruption Damages DNA Sequencer
Market Wire (04/30/07) Sanchez, Jeanna ; Hecker, Ray

MultiGEN Diagnostic's latest DNA sequencing laboratory features automation to process over 1,000 samples daily through its Applied Biosystems 3130 Genetic analyzer. Although government agencies and doctors can receive results in as little as eight hours, the laboratory was forced to reinforce its infrastructure after a single, one-minute power outage closed the lab for a month. MultiGEN Diagnostics opted for a Category III-3 Laboratory Battery Backup Power Protection System from Franek Technologies Inc., which was calibrated to deal specifically with the lab's Applied Biosystems 3130 Genetic analyzer. The lab is now slated for certification. Franek Technologies Vice President and General Manager Raymond Hecker says, "Laboratory equipment has such tight power input and utilization tolerances that only a high level of conditioned power protection and back-up can ensure that instruments are not damaged, test runs are not interrupted, and precious results are not lost."
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Cool Muscle Motors for Superior Lab Automation
Laboratorytalk (04/30/07)

Labman Automation's automated bottle inspection system uses more than a dozen motors form Reliance Cool Muscle. The system features nine stations where the condition and filled volume of each bottle is assessed, before a Cool Muscle motor examines and adjusts cap tightness. Bottles that pass these initial inspections are moved into the main bottle handling system. The Cool Muscle motors were selected because each one of them can handle an array of functions. Additionally, they are easily programmed and integrate with technologies already in use.
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Crossing Over
Drug Discovery & Development (04/14/07) Knaack, Andreas

Diagnostic tests can be made quicker and more streamlined through point-of-care diagnostic test (POCT) technologies, and many firms are relying on drug discovery toolkits and applying them in POCTs. Lab-on-a-chip devices, for example, are being used in the areas of genomics and proteomics. Tests are conducted on devices as small as a credit card, and one or more chemical or biochemical processes are performed, resulting in a controlled reaction. The goal is to maximize assessments using a minimum number of samples and reagents. Other POCT devices include microarrays for genotyping, mutation screening, gene expression, and protein-interaction analyses. Microarrays can be used for conducting drug discovery research because they can be applied to larger populations. They can also be used for diagnostic and predictive functions, such as near-patient viral DNA testing for malaria. As for POCT nanotechnology applications, the main applications will be in the field of surface treatment of consumables so that low volumes of reagent and samples need to be used.
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Chemist Wins $500k for Bomb-Sniffer
Associated Press (04/02/07)

Timothy Swager, head of the Department of Chemistry at MIT, was awarded this year's $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize for his development of explosive-sniffing technology. Swager began developing bomb-detecting technology a decade ago under a Pentagon-funded research project to help detect land mines. Though financial obstacles have prevented the technology from being used to find land mines in old war zones, the technology is being used by U.S. soldiers in Iraq to detect traces of bomb-making materials on vehicles and people. The technology uses chemical vapors to detect explosive materials, and is as sensitive and accurate as a trained dog with some classes of chemicals, according to Swager. In 2001, Swager licensed his patented technology to Nomadics, now a unit of ICx Technologies, which started producing the Fido Explosives Detector. Fido, named for its ability to simulate a bomb-sniffing dog, has been used on robots in Iraq to test for explosives in difficult-to-reach and dangerous areas, and U.S. Park Police used handheld units to test bags on the Washington Mall last year during Fourth of July celebrations.
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Bloody Fast: Good Shepherd's New Lab Saves Time, Ups Efficiency
PLongview News-Journal (Tx) (04/12/07) Elswick, Mike

The Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview, Texas, recently launched a laboratory automation program that is already streamlining lab processing. Each year, the center's lab processes about 1.3 million test results. With the addition of $1.4 million in computerized equipment, the lab has improved both turnaround time and quality of results within one month of implementation. Doctors can now depend on faster test results; for example, the centrifuge process is now about four times faster, thanks to the high-speed automated system. To ensure the results' integrity, a bar code is affixed to each sample and results are automatically confirmed.
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Lab on a Chip Works
Space Daily (04/11/07) Bell, Trudy E.

The International Space Station's first test of a tiny biological lab, LOCAD-PTS, was successful, and researchers indicate that its ability to monitor bacteria and fungi on spacecraft surfaces more quickly than other techniques will be invaluable to long-term space travel. Scientists hope that the mini-lab will enable medical staff to closely watch the health of astronauts and spacecraft infrastructure. When the lab kit was opened last December, Astronaut Sunita Williams took control samples from ultraclean water to ensure the device was functional, and then she tested handrails, her palm, and other items for the presence of bacteria. Through the standard testing method, Williams pressed an agar-like substance onto a spacecraft panel and then covered it in order to allow bacterial colonies to grow over the next few days. LOCAD-PTS allowed Williams to test the same panel in less time after she swiped the panel with a dry swab, placed the swab and its collection under ultraclean water, and dispensed the substances into the handheld device for testing. A spokesman for Charles River Laboratories, which manufactured the lab, said the testing can take longer for cleaner samples, while dirty samples take about 2 minutes.
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The Search Is Over
BioTechniques (04/07) Vol. 42 , No. 4 , P. 407

Shotgun proteomics data is presently input into the SEQUEST system to identify peptides and make in silico predictions by looking at public databases containing protein sequences. However, such tools as SEQUEST require a substantial investment of researchers' time, and they may have nothing to show for their labor because in silico predictions often involve theoretical — not actual — peptides. More advanced library-based strategies are in the works that use real spectra to enhance reliability. One library already in use boasts 30,000 yeast peptide spectra. Proteomics researchers are encouraged to post peptide spectra on Web-based data repositories to expand reference material and further increase accuracy.
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