Abstract
In the modern drug discovery, clinical, and forensic laboratories, there is an ever-increasing requirement for validation of every aspect of laboratory operations. The proper functioning of the liquid handlers, which are at the center of many of these operations, is crucial because a single mistake may lead to missing a compound that is a potentially important drug candidate. Two new instruments have been developed, which overcome this shortcoming and have other attractive features. The Sciclone inLI0 and Sciclone i 1000 liquid handlers incorporate microflowmeters in each dispensing channel giving them the unique ability to validate each and every liquid handling function, pinpointing problems when they happen. The inclusion of the microflowmeters provides closed-loop control over all liquid handling functions and data on all executed functions. Each of the 96 fluidic channels is essentially an independent liquid handling channel meaning that 96 different volumes can be aspirated/ dispensed simultaneously enabling one-step plate normalizations and other variable volume assays. The Sciclone inLIO covers a volume range from 20 nL to 10 μL with fixed cannula whereas the Sciclone i 1000 uses disposable tips across a range from 5 to 1000 μL. Coefficient of variances have been shown to be below 3% at the upper volume range and approach 8% at 20 nL.