Best Practices in Automated Liquid Handling

A hands-on Artel Workshop

If you work with automated liquid handlers on a regular basis, and you want to get the most out of them, this hands-on course is for you. Utilizing state-of-the-art liquid handlers and Artel performance measurement technology, you will work through – and solve –common but critical issues affecting liquid handler performance.

Learn from the liquid handling experts, not only how to identify and resolve problems, but also how to develop and optimize your own liquid handler quality program.

This workshop will provide you with the knowledge necessary to get the most out of any liquid handling platform.

Topics   

• Liquid Handling Overview 
• Factors Affecting Method Transfer 
• Understanding Accuracy and Precision 
• Optimizing Liquid Handler Performance 
• Best Practices in Liquid Handling Quality Assurance 

This workshop will help participants:  

• Gain control of liquid handling QA & QC processes
• Increase confidence in assay results
• Become more proficient in liquid handler use and problem solving
• Learn how to diagnose and identify common factors that affect method transfer
• Understand liquid handler behavior for assay-specific tasks
• Recognize how liquid handler settings affect accuracy and precision in assay results

Hands-on laboratory exercises 

The hands-on exercises devised for this workshop will help lab operators sharpen their abilities to: 

• Diagnose and identify common problems that cause assay poor performance and/or a lack of assay transferability 
• Recognize the importance of both accuracy and precision in QC testing 
• Properly assess and measure liquid handler performance 
• Identify tip-by-tip variability problems 
• Understand how liquid properties effect liquid handler volume transfer performance 
• Analyze operator-to-operator variability in handheld pipetting 
• Evaluate dry vs. wet dispense techniques 
• Optimize on-board mixing protocols 
• Compare single pipetting steps vs. multi-sequential pipetting steps 
• Assess differences in volume transfer performance due to differences in liquid class settings from script-to-script.

Meet the Instructors 

The instructors for the workshop are dynamic, experienced leaders in the field of liquid handler performance optimization, who share the mission of helping laboratories achieve maximum performance, productivity, quality and regulatory compliance.

This unique team brings a wealth of scientific knowledge as well as hands-on experience - and they are excited about providing you with the knowledge necessary to get the most out of your liquid handlers.    Details 

	Keith Albert “There are dozens of brands and models of liquid handlers - but I have found that for all of them, if you can nail the accuracy and precision of volume transfer steps in an assay, then you will have the fundamentals needed to get excellent experimental results.”
	Nathaniel Hentz  “I find it immensely gratifying to work with technologists and scientists in figuring out how to optimize their liquid handling experimental processes.  The challenges we face are great and the rewards, as we get it right, are many.”
	Kevin Khovananth  “Developing applications on liquid handlers is my passion.  The combination of factors that may conspire to complicate the process - if addressed methodically one-by-one – also can provide innovative and efficient solutions for the laboratory.”
	John Bradshaw  “There is a well-worn aphorism that says ‘If you can’t measure, you can’t manage’.  I see my mission as making the measurement part of that equation elegant, intuitive, efficient and effective – to help any user de-mystify the operation of any liquid handler.”

Who Should Attend  

Robotic liquid handler technicians
Robot maintenance personnel
QA-QC personnel
Laboratory automation engineers
Research scientists
Laboratory managers
Users interested in hands-on experience with liquid handling robots