High-throughput Screening Automation Research Articles

Advanced Development of Primary Pancreatic Organoid Tumor Models for High-Throughput Phenotypic Drug Screening

Traditional high-throughput drug screening in oncology routinely relies on two-dimensional (2D) cell models, which inadequately recapitulate the physiologic context of cancer. Three-dimensional (3D) cell models are thought to better mimic the complexity of in vivo tumors. Numerous methods to culture 3D organoids have been described, but most are nonhomogeneous and expensive, and hence impractical for high-throughput screening (HTS) purposes. Here we describe an HTS-compatible method that enables the consistent production of organoids in standard flat-bottom 384- and 1536-well plates by combining the use of a cell-repellent surface with a bioprinting technology incorporating magnetic force. We validated this homogeneous process by evaluating the effects of well-characterized anticancer agents against four patient-derived pancreatic cancer KRAS mutant-associated primary cells, including cancer-associated fibroblasts. This technology was tested for its compatibility with HTS automation by completing a cytotoxicity pilot screen of ~3300 approved drugs. To highlight the benefits of the 3D format, we performed this pilot screen in parallel in both the 2D and 3D assays. These data indicate that this technique can be readily applied to support large-scale drug screening relying on clinically relevant, ex vivo 3D tumor models directly harvested from patients, an important milestone toward personalized medicine.

An Industrial Engineering Approach to Laboratory Automation for High Throughput Screening

Across the pharmaceutical industry, there are a variety of approaches to laboratory automation for high throughput screening. At Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, the principles of industrial engineering have been applied to systematically identify and develop those automated solutions that provide the greatest value to the scientists engaged in lead generation.

An industrial engineering approach to laboratory automation for high throughput screening

An industrial engineering approach to laboratory automation for high throughput screening

An Industrial Engineering Approach to Laboratory Automation for High Throughput Screening

An Industrial Engineering Approach to Laboratory Automation for High Throughput Screening

An industrial engineering approach to laboratory automation for high throughput screening

Across the pharmaceutical industry, there are a variety of approaches to laboratory automation for high throughput screening. At Sphinx Pharmaceuticals, the principles of industrial engineering have been applied to systematically identify and develop those automated solutions that provide the greatest value to the scientists engaged in lead generation.

Automation of high throughput screening

Advanced software is the key to successful laboratory automation. This article first describes a process known as high throughput screening used in the discovery of new drugs. The automation of high throughput screening is then outlined at three different scales of investment and resultant throughput. Finally, a comprehensive software architecture is presented. This architecture addresses the key concerns of end users: reliability, flexibility, modularity and ease of use.

Approaches to automation for high-throughput screening

Automation of high-throughput screening (HTS) assays can occur by one of two approaches. One involves design and implementation of systems employing robot arms for the tasks that comprise an assay. While this approach may offer excellent capacity, it usually takes time and large capital outlays to implement, debug, and maintain. Such systems also require specialists for operation and maintenance. The other approach is more stepwise in nature. It involves acquisition of automated workstations from different vendors and installing them in a concatenated fashion to comprise an assay protocol. This method is a more straightforward approach to establishing a turnkey HTS facility. As the fully automated approach is termed robotic, the stepwise method may be termed hubotic, insofar as it reflects the synergies obtainable by allowing people to provide the work flow between optimized laboratory workstations. Specific examples of these approaches will be described for different aspects of HTS, particularly for running complex cell-based assays. In addition, emerging robotic systems that are capable of ultrahigh-throughput screening capacities and utilize novel design principles will be discussed. We term these ubotic HTS approaches. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Approaches to automation for high‐throughput screening

Automation of high-throughput screening (HTS) assays can occur by one of two approaches. One involves design and implementation of systems employing robot arms for the tasks that comprise an assay. While this approach may offer excellent capacity, it usually takes time and large capital outlays to implement, debug, and maintain. Such systems also require specialists for operation and maintenance. The other approach is more stepwise in nature. It involves acquisition of automated workstations from different vendors and installing them in a concatenated fashion to comprise an assay protocol. This method is a more straightforward approach to establishing a turnkey HTS facility. As the fully automated approach is termed robotic, the stepwise method may be termed hubotic, insofar as it reflects the synergies obtainable by allowing people to provide the work flow between optimized laboratory workstations. Specific examples of these approaches will be described for different aspects of HTS, particularly for running complex cell-based assays. In addition, emerging robotic systems that are capable of ultrahigh-throughput screening capacities and utilize novel design principles will be discussed. We term these ubotic HTS approaches. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.