Laboratory automation accelerates Sars-CoV-2 diagnostics
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The world's first female scientist is revolutionizing biotechnology today. her name is Agamed and has declared war on Covid-19. The one of the same name Robot was developed at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ICHB PAN) with the participation of technology partners Mitsubishi Electric, Perlan Technologies and Labomatica for applications in the laboratory automation
Contents
- Agamede against Covid-19
- Laboratory automation with artificial intelligence
- Laboratory robot originally developed for Epicell
- Evaluate 15.000 tests in one day
- Robotics, control and software from a single source
- antiquity and futurism
- Clean room laboratory with a new look
Agamede against Covid-19
The laboratory robot can test thousands of individual samples every day. With Agamede the Diagnostics of Sars-CoV-2 be accelerated significantly. In addition, it should help to research new drugs, create cosmetic recipes and develop individualized therapies for cancer patients - based on the latest automation solutions and Artificial intelligence (AI).
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Agamede is considered the first female scientist in history. Homer has them in the Iliad in the 12th century BC. described as one who was familiar with the healing powers of all herbs and knew how to mix them properly. Agamede is the namesake for the laboratory automation developed at the Institute for Bioorganic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ICHB PAN).
Laboratory automation with artificial intelligence
The special thing about Agamede is not that Automation of the lab work itself, but the integration of automation and AI used for data interpretation Gene Game Software by Labomatica is used. This combination makes the automated system a closed loop. In it, laboratory robots prepare experiments, read results at a specific time and interpret data in preparation for the next test cycle. All the operator has to do is define his questions, design the test facility and monitor the operation of the automated facility – XNUMX/XNUMX.
The decisive breakthrough with this new type of laboratory robot is that there is no longer a need for a person at the end of a cycle to carry out the subjective analysis of the results and plan the next test series. “Agamede, on the other hand, interprets thanks to the module for Artificial intelligence the experiments without human participation, based on mathematical models”. Radoslaw Pilarski, PhD, inventor and chief engineer of the system.
“Agamede can be used by central diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical companies in drug development, oncology laboratories looking for personalized therapies for patients, but also in R&D departments of chemical and biotechnology companies to optimize bioprocesses,” adds Mr. Pilarski
Laboratory robot originally developed for Epicell
The ICHB PAN started developing the laboratory robot in 2015. The laboratory automation was originally developed for a project by the Epicell consortium (Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry PAS, Institute of Human Genetics PAS and three hospitals from Poznań) funded by the National Center for Research and Development (NCBiR) within the "Strategmed" program Prevention and treatment of lifestyle diseases was promoted.
The aim of the research project was the development of optimized media for automated applications Collection of cardiomyocytes with therapeutic potential from induced pluripotent stem cells (Ipscs), which are previously obtained within the processes of differentiation of muscle cells or myocytes.
The Epicell Consortium combines expertise in the field of small-molecule epigenetic modulators and experience in cell reprogramming. To this end, it conducted studies on the future development of methods for transforming induced ipscs for regenerative medicine purposes, such as targeted implantation in the hearts of patients after a heart attack. This is intended to restore the cardiac output before the infarction.
The number of experiments needed to find a suitable Cocktail of small molecule epigenetic modulators designing it was a challenge. Ten components of the cocktail and ten different concentrations required 10 million experiments.
"With Agamede, the right combination of connections was searched for in a multidimensional system of solutions and the composition of the reprogramming medium 'Epicell One' was developed from this." Prof. Wojciech T. Markiewicz, leader of the Epicell project.
Evaluate 15.000 tests in one day
The situation then changed at the end of March 2020. The Institute for Bioorganic Chemistry has been dealing with DNA and RNA nucleic acids since the very beginning of its existence. This gave it every opportunity to deal with the Sars-CoV-2 diagnostics too busy.
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"Our institute was the first in Poland to develop a test to detect Sars-CoV-2 - Medipan," says Professor Marek Figlerowicz, Director of the ICHB PAN. "We soon decided to combine Agamede's automation with our tests and developed a high-throughput diagnostic protocol that allows us to test 15.000 samples in one day. At least this is the potential, because ICHB PAN as a scientific entity does not have an accredited diagnostic laboratory. This is a very good result, because when analyzing samples manually, one person can only process a few hundred samples at most."
Robotics, control and software from a single source
Mitsubishi Electric, Perlan Technologies and Labomatica were the project partners of laboratory automation Agamede. Mitsubishi Electric participated with a 6-axle Robot, PLC controls and the Melfa Basic software. the Industrial robotsis the central component in the system with its long arm reach. It reproduces the work of a laboratory technician and continuously operates the analyzers based on the test protocols entered into the control software by the operator.
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An integrated robotic tool set allows micro-scale experiments on 96 and 384 well microplates. This suite includes plate and tip feeders, industrial cell culture incubators, pipetting stations, Barcode scanner, labellers, plate sealers, spectrophotometers and fluorescence readers.
Automated confocal microscope
The automated confocal microscope HCA has a special place in the equipment four fluorescence channels a. For the biotec community, this microscope is the equivalent of the Hubble telescope in the microcosm. It photographs and analyzes millions of cells and tissue structures with similar efficiency and quality. The device is supplemented by an acoustic dispenser for dosing Amounts of liquid in the nanoliter range. Dispensing these small samples quickly reduces research costs and increases throughput. The dispenser allows experiments to be carried out with a collection of over 115 chemical compounds.
“In implementing the first such advanced system in Poland, the Robotic Combined with laboratory equipment, we benefited from our international experience. “The support of Mitsubishi Electric’s international structure dedicated to innovative projects has been very helpful,” says Roman Janik, coordinator of solutions for the life science industry in Poland. If he remembers the project work today, he says about the high time pressure. “We all worked under time pressure to develop a solution that would relieve the laboratory technicians as quickly as possible. We have been able to deliver a weekly throughput of 100.000 samples, which is scalable. It's a phenomenal result."
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"The time pressure didn't make the task, which would have been complicated even without it, any easier," sums up Tomasz Scholz, robotics engineer at Mitsubishi Electric. "Agamede is an interdisciplinary project. It combines the technologies of computer science, Robotic, mathematics, chemistry, biology and industrial design. The automated solutions used in it are innovative and unique."
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As with many projects, the biggest challenge in defining the goal and the way in which we want to achieve it. The key to achieving the goal was finding a common jargon so that people from different industries could communicate on one level and make their expectations clear. It was often difficult to bridge the gap between the academic world, which thinks in abstract terms, and the industrial world, which mostly follows a fixed pattern," says Mr. Scholz.
antiquity and futurism
The result is a laboratory robot, which works well and looks interesting. “The visual identification refers to ancient Greece and pays homage to the beginnings of scientific thought in our civilization and to women in science in particular. We added futuristic elements to the poster that visualize the mythical Agamede. This is how the figure of an ancient sculpture and a cyborg came about.
The blue glowing brain and bit motif are one Combination of human thought processes and artificial intelligence. The character is intended to be associated with a humanoid robot solving combinatorial tasks symbolized by folding cubes like a Rubik's Cube. We place it on all promotional materials, including product packaging and prototypes created with the help of Agamede, says Radosław Pilarski, PhD.
Clean room laboratory with a new look
Mr. Pilarski emphasizes that the planning also takes into account the laboratory room was respected. A clean room for aseptic cell culture is windowless and dark in most laboratories. Previous standards were broken in this project and the clean room was given a completely new look with large, carefully sealed windows.
Glass panes allow constant monitoring and control of the automated system without having to wear clean room suits. The lighting was implemented with stage spotlights and gives the apparatus a modern accent. Three rays of light in white, red and blue mix on the Agamede apparatus. Reflections set accents, which are created by mirroring the rays on metal elements. The workbenches are made of snow-white Corian, an extremely smooth, malleable material composite. High-resolution 4K monitors and 4K cameras make work easier and enable remote monitoring and experiments anywhere in the world.
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