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The modern lab happens to be growingly automated with the tasks traditionally carried in a manual way by lab assistants now getting performed by automated tech like robots, algorithms, pipette machine as well as automatic aliquoting machines.
Repetitive tasks like liquid handling as well as library preparation happen to be just a couple of examples when it comes to lab tasks which are kind of becoming completely automated.1
It is worth noting that partial or entire workflows can go on to be completely automated, bringing massive benefits for the research teams when it comes to throughput, precision as well as reproducibility. In entirety, automation in a huge way enhances the quality of research data and at the same time also makes optimal usage of growingly stretched resources as well as personnel in the labs of all, shapes, sizes and also specialisms. Automation can indeed be a game-changer for such kind of laboratories and of course the international research community.1
The fact is that laboratory automation has already had a prominent impact on many research areas that go on to demand high throughput, accuracy, efficiency, quality as well as reproducibility in the fields of analytical chemistry as well as life sciences.
Elevating the International Research by way of Automation
The international research teams that are working in tandem on projects across multiple disciplines need options of enhancing collab so as to work together in a successful way and also reproduce some high-quality results as we all as data. In case of employed in small, medium or even large labs, automation helps the researchers to go ahead and do experiments with detailing and also reproducibility at scale.
There are a number of benefits which automation happens to bring to the table that in a way improves the work as far as the international research teams are concerned. In an increasingly data-led research environment, automation enables to enhance the data precision for example
One instance of this would be continuous automated plate streaking of the samples in the microbiology laboratory which enables to improve the precision of pathogen differentiation.1
Automation goes on to reduce human errors like taking care of induced-variability as well as labelling errors that can go on to impact the reproductibility through the international research.
Moreover, traceability which happens to be a major challenge in scientific research is indeed vastly enhanced through automating lab processes.
One more major benefit automation can go on to bring is the record digitization, which kind of makes it easier to go ahead and share data and results throughout the academic institutions as well as R&D labs across multiple geographical locales.
The digital record-keeping systems enhance the workflow management, thereby creating some flexible and adaptable research structures and at the same time decreasing errors.4
The fact is that lab automation has gone on to benefit many global projects in the last few decades with one major instance being Human Genome Project.
One of the achievements of the 20th and 21st century is that the scientists working on this project have gone on to leverage many automated tech as well as processes so as to enhance the quality of data, its efficiency, traceability and also global collab.2
Shotgun sequencing happened to be one of automated technologies that was developed in the Human Genome Project. Under this process, DNA sequences get broken down into fragments by way of mechanical or enzymatic sources and then cloned across vectors, hence enabling them to get sequenced individually, that was a major part of sequencing the overall human genome and hence automation happened to be central to this international research endevaour.3
Issues and Solutions Within Automated Collaborative Research
While the automation gamut has proved to overcome common challenges that are encountered within the scientific research, thereby leading to enhanced international collaboration throughout the multiple disciplines, getting widespread automation across numerous fields does not come without key issues.
Firstly, comes the question of cost wherein the automated equipment happen to be more costly as compared to traditional tech which may not be as much as an issue in large commercial labs but may as well hinder its uptake as far as smaller labs are concerned.
Secondly, labs which seek to leverage the advantages of automation across international collab research can go on to suffer from a dearth of researchers who are trained when it comes to the usage of automated systems as well as processes.
Apart from this, numerous devices coming from varied vendors can happen to make the integration problematic when it comes to both, local as well as international level, specifically due to the problem of trained staff.
When we talk of international research collaboration, it has its own issues like differences as far as infra and finance is concerned which is available to incorporate automated infra that’s relevant, differences in terms of regulation and benchmark as well as data-privacy concerns.
Executing as well as fostering governmental as well as institutional collaborations can indeed go a long way in addressing numerous challenges.
Lab Automation and its Emerging Technologies
There are many emerging automation technologies that happen to be playing a major role in elevating the international research efforts. AI as well as machine learning, for example are enhancing the data analytics, experiment designs and also data processing.
Industrial Internet of Things- IIoT technologies enable in improving communication between the laboratory equipment at international scale.
Modular automation systems happen to be also democratizing automation, hence making it possible for the smaller laboratories, that happen to be a part of international projects, to go ahead and also justify the cost of automation by way of offering them with growing flexibility.1
As per a McKinsey Research, there happens to be a steady increase in the automation hardware vendors in the recent years and this number has gone on to double between 2008 and 2013, 93 to 206.4, respectively to be exact.
All this has led to dynamic vendor landscape having novel collabs between vendors as well as companies in the field of pharma as well as other scientific research areas.
The increase in collaboration between international stakeholders as well as increasing recognition of lab automation’s role can in a way positively effect the international research collaboration.4
References and Further Reading
1. Automata (2024) What is Lab Automation? (online) automata.com. Available at: https://automata.tech/what-is-lab-automation/ (Accessed on 07 May 2024)
2. Wilson, S et al. (2021) Innovative technological advancements in laboratory medicine: predicting the lab of the future Biotechnology & Biotechnological Equipment 36 pp. S9-S21 [online] tandfonline.com. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13102818.2021.2011413 (Accessed on 08 May 2024)
3. Zhang, J et al. (2011) The impact of next-generation sequencing on genomics J Genet Genomics 38(3) pp. 95-109 [online] PubMed. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21477781/ (Accessed on 08 May 2024)
4. McKinsey & Company (20223) From bench to bedside: Transforming R&D labs through automation [online] mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/life-sciences/our-insights/from-bench-to-bedside-transforming-r-and-d-labs-through-automation (Accessed on 08 May 2024)
