An Introduction to Liquid Handling Automation

29 May 2012, at 13:30-17:00 in Hamburg, Germany

Who Should Attend?

The course is suitable for scientists, technicians, engineers, quality control workers, students and lab managers who would like to learn (more) about usage of automated liquid handing in certified, accredited or forensic environments. 

This course presents an introduction to the process of standardizing, validating and accrediting automated liquid handling instruments and processes in both conventional and forensic environments. 

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the benefits and challenges of working with automated liquid handlers in a certified or accredited environment. 

2. Understand the challenges of standardization, validation and accreditation

3. Develop an understanding of the validation process

4. Learn to plan and execute implementation and validation of automated liquid handlers and processes

5. Understand the pitfalls of automated liquid handling in accredited or forensic environments and how to avoid with them.

Topics and Course Organization

Understanding of Automated liquid handling systems

1. Introduction to Laboratory Automation

Benefits of laboratory automation

Downsides of laboratory automation

2. Automation options

What could be automated?

What should be automated?

How should automation be introduced in an accredited lab?

3. Choice of liquid handler

One large multipurpose instrument vs. several smaller dedicated instruments

Open vs. closed systems

Fixed tips vs. disposable tips

Automated liquid handling in accredited or forensic environments

1. Validation

Introduction to accreditation

Validation of automated systems 

Validation of methods/scripts

Testing and validation of pipetting performance

2. Script design

Process flow

Deck/worktable layout

Reuse of sub-routines or loops

3. Volume verification of liquid handlers

Do-it-yourself solutions

Commercial solutions

4. Maintaining a validated process – validated

Shared components of the validated scripts such as worktable/deck, pipetting techniques and liquid classes

Common errors – and how to prevent them

5. Instrument Software and script upgrades

Requirements from the standard ISO 17025

Instrument software variability

How should software updates be handled – the process

Firmware

Test requirements