An automated mobile phase preparation workstation.

An automated solvent dispensing workstation capable of delivering volumes ranging from 10 mL to 4.5 L for the preparation of solutions/mobile phases was developed and implemented into the industrial R&D laboratory. The workstation was designed to address business, safety, and compliance needs while meeting or exceeding the precision and accuracy of current manual methods of preparation. The system's performance was optimized with respect to liquid transfer tubing inner diameter, pumping pressure, flow characteristics of the valve, and computer control logic. The automated solvent dispensing workstation was shown to exceed the specifications set by the ASTM for Class A graduated cylinders for all dispense volumes (10 mL-4.5 L).

Powder dispensing robot for sample preparation.

An automated powder dispensing station capable of transferring milligram quantities (1-100 mg) of powder for sample preparation was developed and integrated into a commercial robotic workstation (Zymark Prelude). The system's performance was optimized with respect to vacuum flow rate and powder transfer tube cross sectional area, and shown to possess excellent powder dispensing accuracy (RSD = < or = 0.1% for target weights < or = 15 mg) and precision (RSD = 3.43%) for a vanillin sample. Using the commercial features of the Zymark Prelude workstation (liquid handling, weighing, and vortexing/mixing) and the custom powder dispensing station, multiple sets of analytical calibration standards were prepared and subsequently analyzed by FIA in order to assess the system's robustness for sample preparation.