ROBOTISERING IN DE BIOANALYSE: A BRAVE NEW WORLD?
Benno Ingelse
Janssen Research Foundation, Beerse, België

The need for fast bioanalytical methods within the pharmaceutical sector is rapidly growing. A lot of emphasis is put on lab automation. Especially sample preparation and clean-up time can be significantly reduced using either on-line techniques or automated off-line methods. Improved chromatographic techniques and the proliferation of LC-MS/MS have also enable us to speed up the analysis. This presentation will give an overview of different techniques that are used to increase sample throughput. Some automated/improved analytical methods that have been introduced in our laboratory will be discussed. The pitfalls and limitations of automation will also be reviewed.