THE FUTURE LAB A fully-automated Food / Feed Sample Preparation System G. Schött 1 , T. Nehr 2 , T. Paulußen 2 , N. Hansen 1 , J. Kempin 1 , F. Finck 2 , W. Karnstedt 2 , J. Flender 2 , M. Abel 2 , S. Staiger 1 , D. Hermann 2 , R. Herrmann 2 , J.S. Mänz 1 1 Eurofins WEJ Contaminants GmbH, Neuländer Kamp 1, 21079 Hamburg, Germany 2 Elbatron GmbH, Roggenweg 3, 22926 Ahrensburg, Germany Fully-automated sample preparation system [email protected] Introduction Faster, cheaper, better – main features of the laboratory of the future. To achieve these objectives, changes in all levels are necessary. One aspect is the automation of lab processes, but up to now only mostly sub-processes are automated in the lab. The presented poster shows the development of a fully-automated sample preparation system. details construction with three ABB robots high throughput of up to 400 samples / day versatile (different matrices and different methods, e.g. QuEChERS) processing different methods within the same time full-automatic: from weighed sample to the prepared HPLC vial no manual steps are necessary 24 h runtime Fig. 1 Picture of the fully-automated food / feed sample preparation system sample feeding conveyor & barcode reader chilled centrifuge pass-through SPE sample ejection labelling & capping extraction solvent pumps ultrasonic extraction ABB robot with phase detection salt dispenser 1 CTC PAL I liquid handler addition of ISTD and/or spike solution 2 3 4 6 5 9 7 10 11 CTC PAL II liquid handler sample dilution and / or addition of ISTD 8 Fig. 2 Benefits of a fully-automated food / feed sample preparation system BENEFITS continuous flow / one piece flow sample feeding by untrained staff complete traceability overnight sample processing lower production costs reduction of human errors improved TAT 95 improved quality reduced costs Equipped system with samples (manual) quality control sample? no yes add spike solution add ISTD add extraction solvent extraction phase separation? add salt extraction centrifuge samples add aliquot to SPE column collect filtered sample add ISTD and / or diluting solution add sample aliquot or filtered sample label HPLC vial cap HPLC vial no yes pass-through SPE? no yes 1 2 3 4 5 4 6 9 10 8 10