Exosomes purification and analyses comprise a fast evolving research area; more than 70% of published research on exosomes has been done within the last six years.

Dr. Nathaniel Hentz is assistant director of the analytical lab at the Golden LEAF Biomanufacturing Training and Education Center (BTEC), where he develops bioanalytical assays in support of the various biomanufacturing processes taught at BTEC. Since 2008, Dr. Hentz has been responsible for developing and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, industry short courses, and government (FDA and BARDA) training courses, with a focus on assay development and validation, quality control, and liquid-handling performance.

Sample preparation can be a labor-intensive and expensive process. What are the factors that should be considered when evaluating the possible transition from manual to semi-automated or fully automated systems? How do they impact your return on investment?

For many labs, automation provides the biggest return on sample preparation because it’s the key time-consuming bottleneck for many processes.

Artel, the leader in liquid handling quality assurance, announced today that the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) and Artel are working together to produce a conference short course for the 2015 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. “Liquid Handling Essentials – A Hands-on Workshop Bridging Fundamental Concepts to Practice,” will be presented on Saturday, February 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The concept of lab automation sounds almost magical, as if a sophisticated machine here or there makes a lab run by itself. Indeed, automation can improve the efficiency of a lab and more, but figuring out the best “here” or “there” creates the challenge.

Malvern Instruments has released new guidance on using automated image analysis to detect and quantify agglomerates. The ability of uncontrolled agglomeration to substantially impact the performance and value of powder products makes efficient agglomerate detection vital across a number of industries.

Multichannel pipettes are invaluable when working with multiwell plates. However, prolonged and repetitive pipetting sessions bear the risk of strain and fatigue, often resulting in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and less reproducible results.

SLAS2015 is fast-approaching, taking place February 7-11 in Washington, DC.

Key laboratories worldwide contribute to collaboration.

Every year, we see research facilities moving toward more automation, and recent issues of Lab Manager highlight some of the newest equipment on the market. Many laboratory tasks are labor-intensive and the sheer number of tasks performed, such as washing and sterilizing containers and installing and disposing samples and wastes, are becoming too time-consuming. Thus, complex equipment, such as sonicators, washers, autoclaves, and autosamplers, is becoming a necessity and is much more prevalent.

Registration for SLAS2015 is now live. Be sure to join the Society and 5,000 of your peer researchers, scientists, engineers and academic professionals in Washington, DC for this fourth annual conference and exhibition dedicated to scientific technology and automation.