Industrial robots are bringing the benefits of flexible automation to many of the techniques and processes used in the RandD laboratory, particularly in the drug discovery/pharmaceutical sector
Traditionally, a lot of the experimental testing that needs to be performed in the drug discovery research lab has involved extremely precise, but repetitive, manual handling, mixing and measuring operations.
GlaxoSmithKline is a world leading, research-based pharmaceutical company.
It were seeking to automate further some of its R&D lab processes to improve operational speed and efficiency at its Harlow R&D centre. After considering the automation options available, it selected Stäubli RX robots to provide the precise sequence of controlled movements that would replicate exactly their existing manual operations.
GSK R&D is based at 24 sites in seven countries and currently has a research budget of about £2.4 billion.
Six centres of excellence for drug discovery have been established. Development of automation systems at the Harlow facility is being managed by Alan Stanley, senior investigator, technology development, chemistry.
Alan had previously encountered Stäubli RX robots at work in several drug discovery and cell culture applications and had been impressed with their speed of operation and precision.
His main concern was if RX robots would be sufficiently adaptable to cope with the often rapidly changing demands of the research lab environment and moreover, be acceptable to the highly qualified research chemists as a bench top tool they would accept and fully utilise to improve their efficiency.
He commented, "Our aim was to relieve the research scientists from the need to spend time on repetitive lab bench processes such as weighing, mixing, and handling.
This would release them to devote more time to evaluate and review the results being obtained from their research tasks and to plan the detail of their future experimental work programmes.
We wanted the robot to be used as a flexible tool, not as a solution." A working group was established to assist GSK in the development of the required automation systems.
The Warwick Manufacturing Group, based at the International Manufacturing Centre, on the campus of the University of Warwick, provided the automation expertise and a location for the experimental cell.
Aitken Scientific, specialist in writing software for laboratory automation, joined the team with the remit to create a user interface that would be easy to use, flexible and acceptable to the researchers who were not conversant at all with the operation of automation systems.
Previous automation in GSK labs had mainly been belt driven, Cartesian-type robotics capable of working to an accuracy of 2mm or 3mm, sufficient when filling a 9mm diameter vial.
These systems tended to be dedicated to a single process and were not adaptable and certainly not capable of working with test plates containing up to 1536 wells with well diameters of only 100 microns.
A step change in accuracy was required.
Stäubli RX robots operate to a repeatability level of 20/30 microns and are capable of working with the latest lab testing equipment including the 'lab on a chip' developments using high-density micro-channel test plates.
A simple weighing operation was selected as the application on which the base system and user interface software would be developed.
Two Stäubli RX60 robots were installed, one in the experimental cell at Warwick and the second back at the labs in Harlow.
The aim was to have a demonstration cell operating in Harlow for evaluation by the research chemists in July 2002.
The user interface would be critical.
Aitken's approach was to present a simple icon based series of screens on which the researcher could select the specific testing operation required and finely adjust the parameters as thought necessary.
The same interface would be used for all types of test, building user confidence and experience of using the automation system.
The weighing demonstration work cell replicates a typical operation from the Harlow labs.
It requires the robot to pick up an empty vial from the holding matrix, place this onto the scale to determine the net weight.
The tool head is then changed from a gripper to a liquid dispensing nozzle and a measured amount of reagent is inserted into the vial.
Finally the vial is re-weighed to determine the weight of reagent added and returned to the holding matrix.
A DVT vision system is attached to the robot's arm to recognise any empty slots in the vial container or other irregularities.
This system has, under the initial test bench conditions, reduced the time taken to weigh a plate of 96 vials from 1.5 hours down to just ten minutes.
Error rates are effectively eliminated taking a degree of doubt out of the research process.
The robot performs all tests in exactly the same consistent manner, improving significantly the validity of the research results.
The speed of testing has been increased and the robot's precision enables the latest micro-channel test plates to be used.
This brings the additional cost benefit of reducing the usage of some very expensive reagents.
Dr Stanley sees this demonstration six axis robot system as the first of many that will be required at the Harlow R&D facility, which is currently being further expanded.
As knowledge and appreciation of the benefits that this new approach brings to the lab become known across GSK's other research centres, this flexible method of automation, built around the versatile Stäubli RX robot, is placed to become standard lab equipment, supporting the painstaking and precise sequence of processes that are essential in drug testing and discovery.
