The Laboratory Robotics Interest Group
Mid Atlantic Chapter
February 2006 Meeting
Automated Sample Management, Storage & Retrieval
Technology Exhibition & Presentations
Date: Thursday, February 2,
2006
Place: Please
note
that the location has changed to:
Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center
200 Atrium Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873
Phone: 732-469-2600
www.doubletreesomerset.com
Ask for the special LRIG rate of $94 if you are staying over.
Itinerary: Exhibition & Social Period - 3:00pm
to 6:00pm
Meeting & Presentations - 6:00pm
to 9:00pm
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 web registrants for our LRIG
laser pointers, Photon key ring lights and any donated prizes.
Door Prizes:
Laser Pointers --- LRIG
$25 Starbucks Card --- GenVault
Photon Keyring Lights --- LRIG
Door prizes for the drawings gratefully accepted - a great way to get your
name out!
Agenda: This meeting is focused on current
and emerging approaches in Automated Sample Management, Storage & Retrieval
technologies, as well as compound stability and integrity issues.
The most valuable assets of any pharmaceutical research organization, the
rown Jewels,?are the contents of its compound library. Unfortunately, there
are many ways the integrity of these assets can be compromised in their travels
through the vast and sometimes disparately managed spaces between compound
storage and numerous high throughput screening assay locations, both on- and
off-site. Worse still, the inefficiencies of conventional storage and transit,
and the associated costs, increase geometrically as the sheer number of
compounds used per HTS screening assay double and redouble.
from "Taming The Wasteland From Compound Storage
To HTS Assay" by John Morin, Ph.D. of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in Biomedicalproducts, March 2002
Discoveries and recent advancements in this critical area will be discussed in
presentations from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. Exhibitors will display their latest
technology from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.
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:
Samples in DMSO: What an end user needs to know
Christopher Lipinski, Ph.D.; Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
Pfizer Global Research and Development, Pfizer, Inc., retired
The end user of samples in DMSO is someone who uses and stores samples for a
relatively short period of time. The body of existing literature suggests
storing samples in dry DMSO at room temperature for no more than three months
and then discarding them. DMSO and water exhibit very non-ideal behavior when
mixed together. This behavior is responsible for a range of property changes
when the two solvents interact. These include; the hygroscopicity of DMSO; the
viscosity increase when DMSO is wet and most importantly for this discussion:
the marked solubility decrease of compounds in wet DMSO. When compounds
precipitate from wet DMSO about half the time they can be resolubilized by
sonication. The trend in chemistry to make amorphous compounds is an advantage
in that initial solubilization in DMSO is easy. The downside is that the DMSO
solutions have to be kept absolutely dry and freeze thaw cycles need to be
minimized. Trifluoroacetic (TFA) contamination of samples in DMSO is a serious
problem. TFA as low as 10 nM is cytotoxic in 24-hour cell cultures. This is not
much of a problem in the typical short incubation HTS but it could be a problem
as longer time interval safety assays get pushed into discovery. When TFA
contaminated samples in DMSO become wet, acid hydrolysis becomes a serious
concern. Many heterocycles made by a dehydration step are perfectly stable under
neutral conditions but are hydrolyzed by TFA in wet DMSO.
Presentation:
Poor Aqueous Solubility and Compound Aggregation: Detection, Differences, and
impact on In-Vitro Screens
Joseph Goodwin
BD Biosciences
Poor aqueous solubility and compound aggregation are two persistent problems
that interfere with both high throughput and secondary screens. Poor solubility
and compound aggregation both directly impact the effective compound
concentration and the accuracy of the in-vitro assay results. In addition, the
formation of compound aggregates can cause false positives by interacting
non-specifically with the enzyme ligand interaction. The negative effects that
particle formation has on in-vitro screens will be discussed. In addition, new
methods that can be used to distinguish aggregation from precipitation will be
presented using the BD GentestTM Solubility
Scanner, a flow cytometry instrument specifically optimized for rapid and highly
sensitive detection of insoluble and aggregate particles. The primary
distinction of this technology verses other light scatter methods, is the
ability to generate distinct light scatter signals for each particle as it
passes through the excitation beam. This unique capability enables the analysis
of a wide variety of sample types (from traditional assay buffers to more
complex samples containing excipients and serum).
Presentation:
Automation of compound management at Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI)
Marybeth Burton; Associate Director, Chemical Technologies
Schering-Plough Research Institute
Proprietary research sample collections are one of the most valuable assets
for large pharmaceuticals companies. Investment in technology to store,
retrieve, prepare, and analyze this key resource is critical for the support of
current and future drug discovery screening efforts. This presentation describes
the project undertaken by Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI) to automate
compound management processes and highlights improvements in request processing
cycle time resulting from this initiative.
Presentation:
Practical Considerations for Enlightened Compound Management
Rhett Affleck, Ph.D.; V.P. Technology
Nexus Biosystems
Beyond the choices of storage systems, container types, and compound
selection, many questions remain regarding how to best achieve a compound
management facility goal: delivering the proper amount of each requested
compound ?at the required throughput and at a reasonable cost. Precipitation
and degradation of compounds in DMSO stocks is a known problem. Should compounds
be stored dry, in DMSO, or both? If in DMSO, at what concentration? Should
multiple copies of each compound be aliquotted and stored? These and other
decisions will ultimately influence screening results and should be considered
by compound managers and screeners before processes are put in place that
needlessly waste or don actually deliver a large fraction of the library.
Presentation:
Compound Management, One Size Fits All? and Other Pitfalls
Paul Gosnell; Group Leader, Compound Management
Bristol-Myers Squibb
The past ten years of compound management has been an extremely dynamic period
of development and growth. During this period all of the major pharmaceutical
companies and many of the larger biotechnology companies have invested heavily
in their compound management capabilities. Much success has been achieved and
through a partnering with technology vendors, compound management has become an
inherent part of successful drug discovery. However, the past ten years has been
a time of rapid change and a myriad of paths have been pursued in drug
discovery, as a result many of the compound management solutions delivered have
been the victims of planning, design and implementation pitfalls. This
presentation will expose several common pitfalls of compound management and
discuss options for avoiding the same pitfalls in future compound management
endeavors.
Presentation:
GenVault: Dry-state DNA storage: Enabling Pharmacogenomics through Smart
Biosample Management
Dr. David Wellis, PhD; Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing
GenVault
The management of biosamples has become increasingly important for
pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations in light of access,
traceability and cost requirements. Biosamples must be easily shipped,
repeatedly accessed and conveniently distributed. Biosamples must also be stored
in cost-effective, long term storage conditions that are secure and traceable.
GenVault exceeds these demands with a fully integrated sample management system
designed for optimizing storage and retrieval and quick accessibility of
collected biological samples. The core of the platform, the GenPlate, enables
long-term storage, high throughput access, standard shipment and recovery of
high quality DNA all at room temperature. GenVault state of the art system is
automated and offers clinical informatics to meet the needs of both small and
large repositories.
Exhibitors:
Exhibitor Information:
https://www.lab-robotics.org/Mid_Atlantic/meetings/0602_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!
From 3:00pm-4:00pm there will be Butler Style:
* Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Remoulade
* Vegetarian Spring Roll with Soy Dipping Sauce
* Spinach and Feta Over Lavasch
* Melon Parisienne with Prosciutto
* Iced Jumbo Shrimp
From 4:00pm-6:00pm:
FAJITA STATION
* A Uniformed Attendant to Roll to Order in Soft Flour Tortillas and Stuff to
Order in Hard Corn Tortillas:
* Char Grilled Flank Steak, Lemon Pepper rubbed Chicken Breast, Saut嶪d Onions
and Peppers
* Accompanied with Iceberg Chiffonade, Salsa, Cr鋗e Fraiche, Guacamole, Shredded
Monterey Jack Cheese, Black Olives, and Southwestern Chili
CARVING STATION
* Honey Baked Ham with Whole Grain Mustard, Sweet and Sour Sauce
PASTA BAR
* Faralle Pasta with Saut嶪d Mushrooms, Green Peas and Pesto Sauce
DESSERT STATION
* DoubleTree Cookies
BEVERAGE STATION
* Coffee, Tea, Water, Assorted Soda
* Cash Bar
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/location/map.cfm>
Visit The Laboratory Robotics
Interest Group homepage at https://www.lab-robotics.org
