The Laboratory Robotics Interest Group
Mid Atlantic Chapter
January 2003 Meeting
Automated Compound Storage & Retrieval
Date: January 15, 2003
Place: Doubletree Hotel, 200 Atrium
Drive, Somerset, NJ 08873
Phone: 732-469-2600, Fax: 732-509-4534
Itinerary: Exhibition & Social Period -
3:00 to 6:30 PM
Meeting & Presentations - 6:30
to 9:00 PM
Pre-Registration: REQUESTED, not required. Pre-registering will
allow us to more accurately gauge seating requirements and refreshment
needs. Pre-register
on the web at:
https://www.lab-robotics.org/member/meetings.asp?rid=1.
There will be
drawings from the pre-registrants for our beautiful LRIG
laser pointers, Photon keyring lights and any vendor
(hint, hint) supplied prizes.
Door Prizes:
Laser Pointers (LRIG)
Photon Keyring Lights (LRIG)
10 lb. Ghiradelli Chocolate Bar (yes, a single ten pound chocolate bar from an
anonymous donor!)
Agenda: Recent advancements in this exciting field will be discussed in presentations
from 6:30 to 9:00 PM. Exhibitors will display their latest technology
from 3:00 to 6:30 PM. There is a profile of the ACSR field at:
https://www.lab-robotics.org/Mid_Atlantic/meetings/0301_acsr_synopsis.htm
Food and refreshments will be available FREE OF CHARGE
during the Exhibition and Social Period.
There is always a Job posting board at the social. Please encourage your recruiters to
give you material to post and distribute. Openings may also be posted at:
https://www.lab-robotics.org/forum/default.asp?CAT_ID=2.
There is no fee to attend the meeting.
Presentation: "Storage of
Samples in DMSO: Issues and Potential Solutions"
Christopher Lipinski, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow
Pfizer Global Research and
Development, Pfizer, Inc.
Distribution of samples as DMSO solutions is globally replacing
distribution of powders/solids. The integrity of a sample in DMSO depends both
on sample chemical stability (chemical degradation) and sample DMSO solubility.
Stability versus solubility issues arise from completely different chemical
features and require different approaches to potential solutions. The relative
balance of stability versus solubility as components of integrity depends very
much on the sample source. For example, for combinatorial libraries compound
solubility in DMSO is much more of a problem than compound stability.
Editor's Note: Dr. Lipinski is the author of the noted "Rule of Five"
in determining if compounds meet "drug-like" criteria. Further detail may
be found in a PowerPoint presentation at
<http://pc-gamba.math.tau.ac.il/Education/CS01a/GroupSeminar/LipinskiRuleOfFive.ppt>
or an ACS article at
<http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/8017/8017computers.html>.
Presentation: "Drug Library Handling For
Microfluidic High-Throughput Screening Assays"
Jyotsna Iyer,
Sherri Biondi, and Kai Chin
Caliper Technologies Corp., 605 Fairchild Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043
Caliper Technologies has developed a commercial instrument platform and a
menu of microfluidic LabChip?devices for drug discovery applications. The
instrument, Caliper 250, is equipped with precision flow control modules,
fluorescence detection optics, and standard microplate handling robotics to
interface with the microchips. The chips sample compounds from the standard
microtiter plate format using ipper?technology, which makes use of
capillaries attached perpendicular to the plane of the microchannel network to
automate compound accession through a vacuum applied to the reservoir on the
chip. Compounds, separated by buffer spacers, are serially brought onto the
chip, and their activity is determined individually by flurorescence after
reacting with the appropriate reagents supplied on chip. Multisipper chips allow
parallelization of assays to enhance throughput.
A number of assays in the 4-sippper format, including enzymatic and cellular
assays, have been developed and commercialized. In our validation studies for
these assays we demonstrated that microfluidic devices can yield very high
quality data unmatched by conventional methods. This data was of sufficient
quality that variability in upstream sample handling was illustrated,
specifically in the preparation of compound plates.
We will present data from a study that looked at the reproducibility in
compound plate preparation. A small but diverse set of fluorescent compounds
were pipetted from master plates to intermediate plates and then assay plates.
The variability in each step was determined both within and between freeze-thaw
cycles. We found that variability was minimal for compounds with high
solubilities in DMSO and buffer. The largest source of variability was found in
intermediate plate preparation due to precipitates in the master plates.
Presentation: "Drug Library Quantitation
For Microfluidic High-Throughput Screening Assays"
Ioana Popa-Burke, Paul Bernasconi, Darren Sparkman, Nick Hodge, Olga Issakova,
Bill Janzen
Amphora Discovery Corp., 800 Capitola Drive, Durham, NC 27713
www.amphoracorp.com
Chemical genomics represents a new approach to target identification and drug
development with the potential for dramatically accelerating the drug discovery
process. At Amphora Discovery we are exploiting chemical genomics by creating a
comprehensive database of information articulating the action of a large
chemical library on hundreds of targets. The information present in the Amphora
database must be of the highest quality, to allow analysis which would be
impossible with classic HTS data sets.
To maintain this high quality data, we have optimized the components of the
process and ensured they are all equally exceptional. The two main components of
the process are the library of compounds and the screening itself. The latter
has been controlled by a combination of process, and by taking advantage of the
high quality data produced by Caliper microfluidics devices. We have also
dealt with the compounds as described herein.
We will present data from an ongoing study that measures the concentration of
compounds in Amphora Diversity Library at the level, and in the buffer, used
for the screening assay. All compounds were pipetted from master plates to
intermediate plates and then assay plates, which were in turn diluted in buffer
and run in the HTS.
We will also show a comparison of the concentrations measured in the assay
plates diluted with buffer with the initial concentrations of the compounds in
the master plates in DMSO. This data shows the true concentration of the
compounds screened, taking into consideration both the solubility and stability
of compounds in buffer. It also allows the correction of the IC50 values to
their true concentration. The data may also explain in part why hit rates in
many HTS assays are in most cases very low, even with highly diverse or targeted
libraries.
Presentation: "Quality
Perspectives for Compound Storage"
Dania Yaskanin, Ph.D. Manager, Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and
Development Corporate Compound Logistics Center
The Corporate Compound Logistics Center (CCLC) is actively investigating
compound quality and storage issues. Several approaches are being used,
including studies of production materials, process verifications, and storage
environment.
Production material changes over the past year have included compound storage
vials, microplate seals, and DMSO vendors. The compound vials were replaced with
a different vial type to improve compound handling and data quality. At J&J PRD,
solubilized compounds in DMSO are stored in microplates in a controlled
environment. To optimize compound storage in this environment, seven different
microplate seals were evaluated for seal integrity with physical stress tests
and detection of materials leached into DMSO. A portion of the solubilized
compound inventory is also being moved into sealed polypropylene tubes that will
allow comparison of compound quality when stored in plates versus tubes.
Process verifications have shown that solvent handling during compound
solubilization and dilution influences the quality of compounds in solution.
Qualitative analysis of a representative portion of the compound library is
underway, with the goal of repeating the analysis over several years to record
compound deterioration over time. Additional procedures for evaluating compound
quality are currently being added to department capabilities, such as
quantitative analysis of compound concentration, percentage of water content,
and detection of contaminating materials extracted by DMSO.
Exhibitors:
Exhibitor Information:
https://www.lab-robotics.org/Mid_Atlantic/meetings/0301_exhibit_information.htm
Menu
Food and refreshments are free of charge to attendees - they are paid for by
the exhibitors, so please be sure to visit all their exhibits!
There will be water, soda, and a cash bar.
3:00-6:30 --- Nacho Bar Sliced Fresh Fruit and Berries
4:30-6:00 --- Passed Hors d'oeuvres of mini crab cakes, beef wellington,
mushrooms stuffed w/ spinach and cheese, vegetarian mini quiche, fantail shrimp,
artichoke bottoms filled w/ salmon mousse, sesame chicken and of course
california rolls w/ soy sauce.
5:00-6:30 --- Wok Station - Tidbits of seasoned chicken and beef stir fried
w/ chinese vegetables in an oriental sauce. Served w/ steamed rice and fortune
cookies
6:30-9:00 --- Coffee, Assorted Teas, Ice Cold Milk, Soft Drinks, bottled
water w/ Cookie and Brownie Factory (an assortment of freshly baked cookies, and
brownies dusted w/ powdered sugar)
DON'T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER TO INSURE THAT THERE IS ENOUGH FOOD AND SEATS.
https://www.lab-robotics.org/member/meetings.asp?rid=1
Directions:
<http://www.doubletreesomerset.com/section.cfm/455>
Visit The Laboratory Robotics
Interest Group homepage at https://www.lab-robotics.org
