SLAS 2023 snapshot: innovations, learnings, and what you may have missed
We caught up with Laura Dranschak, Director of Commercial Operations & Custom Solutions, to catch up on all things SLAS 2023. See what all the buzz was about on the show floor, what the automation industry holds for labs of the future, and download our latest automation research poster on 3D complex assays.
- What was the vibe like at SLAS 2023?
- The excitement and interest in robotics and automation were contagious. The industry is putting drug discovery at the center of innovation and customers are driving this journey by embracing automation and its value.
- Any new products or innovations that stood out?
- SLAS showcased many innovative products driven by customer feedback and collaboration.
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- Our own innovative solutions showcased at SLAS were driven by customers as well. For instance, the QPix XE, a smaller version of our industry leading QPix automated colony picker, is a direct result of customer requests for a bench top colony picker that is affordable for academics and startups. Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving—faster, better, and increasingly flexible science backed by data analytics and customer 360 insight, enabling a holistic approach to customer workflows.
- What were the popular topics at the event?
- Conversations were less about assay automation and increasingly about complete end-to-end workflow automation. Automating single-cell printing through monoclonality assurance to organoid cell line creation. Other popular topics included customer accessibility, data analysis trends, and compliance, just to name a few.
- Tell us about your Automated Workflow Solutions team that was at the show.
- Automating workflows requires multiple roles working together to execute on customer goals. From sales through procurement, each project is a new challenge. No one associate is an expert in everything, so cross-company collaboration between integrators and vendors is essential for furthering advancements in lab automation. It was great to see the networking between companies at SLAS. Executing excellent custom instrumentation and automated workflows demands multi-faceted and experienced associates. This need is underscored for Molecular Devices, as we also manufacture the core research instrumentation within these workflows. Our team needs not only the expertise of a traditional automation integrator, but also our own instrumentation and literacy in a multitude of automation scheduling software programs. My team leaders Madhavee Buddhikot, Joseph Erthal, and Constantin Radu have a combined 35 years with Molecular Devices in a variety of roles ranging from Technical Support through Service. This question made me curious about the team as a whole, including myself. The team has over 115 years of experience at Molecular Devices ranging from optical engineering to workflow execution. This longevity of tenure gives Molecular Devices Custom & Automated Solutions unmatched agility and flexibility from inquiry to post-installation.
Who would you rather design an addition for your home? The team that designed and built the home or an unknown contractor? The original team offers incredible value from adjusting design on the fly to rapid feasibility assessment. Similarly, my team consists of many former R&D associates who now customize and create workflows with the same instrumentation they brought to market.
Lab automation for high-throughput plate-based assays
- Automating workflows requires multiple roles working together to execute on customer goals. From sales through procurement, each project is a new challenge. No one associate is an expert in everything, so cross-company collaboration between integrators and vendors is essential for furthering advancements in lab automation. It was great to see the networking between companies at SLAS. Executing excellent custom instrumentation and automated workflows demands multi-faceted and experienced associates. This need is underscored for Molecular Devices, as we also manufacture the core research instrumentation within these workflows. Our team needs not only the expertise of a traditional automation integrator, but also our own instrumentation and literacy in a multitude of automation scheduling software programs. My team leaders Madhavee Buddhikot, Joseph Erthal, and Constantin Radu have a combined 35 years with Molecular Devices in a variety of roles ranging from Technical Support through Service. This question made me curious about the team as a whole, including myself. The team has over 115 years of experience at Molecular Devices ranging from optical engineering to workflow execution. This longevity of tenure gives Molecular Devices Custom & Automated Solutions unmatched agility and flexibility from inquiry to post-installation.
- How does workflow automation help researchers regain control of their schedules?
- Science does not follow a M-F schedule, and many weekends and holidays are spent in the lab. Workflow automation helps researchers regain control by increasing efficiency, throughput, and experimental confidence. Not to mention reducing the "wait, what tube?" ruminations.
- Any parting words?
- Researchers trust us with their science. Projects are rapidly growing in volume and complexity and, as an industry, we are continuously improving and rising to the challenge. Being part of the solution feels like we’ve come full circle.
I had chills leaving SLAS. Helping others is something that motivates and excites me. Many of us go to sleep each night hoping a loved one is cured from diseases like cancer to MS & ALS to lupus. Thanks to the impressive innovation and collaboration highlighted at SLAS, giving someone more time with their loved ones or relief from pain or a cure to cancer are all closer to reality.
- Researchers trust us with their science. Projects are rapidly growing in volume and complexity and, as an industry, we are continuously improving and rising to the challenge. Being part of the solution feels like we’ve come full circle.
Take a look at the automation solutions shared at the show
Automating patient-derived colorectal cancer organoids for high-throughput screening
Presented by Angeline Lim, PhD
For this poster, we developed an end-to-end, automated workflow starting with assay-ready colorectal cancer organoids that tracked the effects of various compounds on colorectal organoid size, morphology, texture, and additional morphological and phenotypic readouts. Overall, our results show the superior potential of PDOs vs. other tissues in both precision medicine and high-throughput drug discovery applications when using automation with high-content imaging.
Automation of 3D bioprinting assays for high-content imaging and assessment of compound effects
Presented by Prathyushakrishna Macha, PhD
The automation of a 3D cell model results in a significant reduction in the time and effort involved, as well as an increase in assay precision and throughput. Here we describe methods for an automated generation of organoids and 3D models using automated 3D bioprinting. An increase in throughput and ease of operation was achieved through automation. Also, imaging and data analysis methods provided valuable information about complex compound effects in 3D printed and cell-tissue-engineered models
Leveraging Automated Workflows to Enable Complex Organoid Assays
Presented by Oksana Sirenko, PhD
In this poster we demonstrate the tools for increasing throughput and automation in organoid assays and provide strategies aimed at enabling reliable, scalable, and reproducible cell culturing, monitoring, imaging, and analysis of complex biological models.
Novel analysis of neural outgrowth in 3D human brain micro-tissues
Presented by Angeline Lim, PhD
In this study, we reconstructed RealBrain® micro-tissues in 3D and developed a method to quantify the number of neurons and their respective outgrowths. With this approach, we confirmed the efficacy of the compounds with the quantification of neurite outgrowth analysis and found that NGF and PD acid significantly increase, while Rotenone reduces the number of neurites compared to the control. Thus, this type of analysis can be used in multiple applications, such as assessing the effects of compounds on neurons and neural networks.
Optimizing Animal free CloneDetect assay with Protein G or A to maximize the sensitivity of real-time detection of human IgG antibody production for therapeutic protein engineering and cell line development using ClonePix System
Presented by Paula Zadek, PhD
In this study, we explore the usage of recombinant Pro A or Pro G combined with CloneDetect K8495 to enhance the fluorescent signal for IgG detection/quantification. The results have shown that adding Pro G at the final concentration of 1.0 ug/ml produced the best outcome compared to the control assay without adding Pro G optimizer. The combination of Pro G and CloneDetect K8495 amplified the fluorescent signal and improved detection, due to the stabilization of the complexes formed by the target protein, Pro G, and CloneDetect reagent. This approach can be applied to a variety of cell line models that express proteins that bind to the stabilized complex formed with CloneDetect.
Single-cell dispensing and screening of cell lines for monoclonality verification using the impedance-based single-cell dispenser and high-throughput fluorescence-based imager
Presented by Prathyushakrishna Macha, PhD
In this study, we demonstrate a workflow to increase throughput and automate single-cell isolation procedures and clonal outgrowth compared to limiting dilution method. Combining single-cell dispensing and imaging into a workflow provides an innovative and simple impedance-based method for the isolation of intact single cells and imaging. Its incorporation into an automated platform allows the increase in dispensing throughput and reliability and has the potential to facilitate gene editing. In addition, it can generate multiple engineered cell lines that carry specific indel and can facilitate the development of several bioprocess developments or drug screening studies.
To summarize, SLAS 2023 was an event full of innovation and collaboration with industry-wide focus squarely on the customers at the center of innovation—and automation is driving this journey. As an industry, we are continuously improving to meet the growing volume and complexity of research projects. Through workflow automation, researchers can increase efficiency, throughput, and experimental confidence to advance discoveries and improve the quality of life everywhere.