Robotic sample searching developed in Japan

Published: 3-Feb-2001


Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical has developed a sample-handling robot that can reduce by half the time required to search through microbes looking for substances with promising medical applications.

The new robot, developed by Yamanouchi's Microbiology Laboratories in cooperation with two other firms, automates the task of transferring microbial samples from storage to the culturing area via syringe-like needles.

The robot system has a large stock of sterilised needles, and it can automatically change to a new needle to continue the search effort. This alone greatly reduces the time it takes to complete the search for active compounds.

Yamanouchi has already verified the usefulness of the prototype and plans to introduce a practical version to its research laboratories starting next year. The company will use the robot to aid its search for promising drug candidates among its collection of some 50,000 to 60,000 microorganisms.

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