Re: Need help for designing chem. robots

george_D wrote:

Hi!

My name is George. I'm not a chemist, but I've worked for a
startup bioengineering company for 5 years and I've taken general
chem.

I'm a computer engineer by profession, specializing in robotics used
in chem. labs. In fact my job at the bio company was to build 4
robotic DNA synthesizers.

For some time I've wanted to design a number of small, table top, and
low cost robots for the chem. industry. At this point it's mostly
just a hobby, but if it works out I'd like to start a business. I
think I've got some good ideas, but my problem is that I still
don't have a good idea of what chemists really need. I'm hoping
that some of you can guide me and give me some advise.

There is a good local college (that's where I took chem.) near me and
I'm getting some help from the chem. teachers there. And I think I
can get assess to there lab to do some experiments.

I've heard of the terms; QC assays, combinatorial chemistry, general
synthesis, but I only have a vague idea of what they are. Other than
that, think what I need to know from chemists is; "As a robotics
engineer, what could I do to make your job a lot easer?"

Thanks George

There are some inspiring examples OT. Craig Venter and the PRISMA DNA sequencer that was conceived as a laser reading the glass plates from DNA analysis. If you have some good insight then you could come up with a similarly revolutionary idea.
How about reading a DNA Gel plate slide with a desktop scanner?
Thinking OT, a GC in an IC or HPLC in an IC so the instrument becomes hand held instead of bench size. But again this requires a lot more work than just better mechanics. A team including Analog and digital IC designers, programmers some chemists to think about the handling of the target molecules , mechanisms for analyzing them etc. Not impossible just very difficult.
On a simpler scale the extension of ion selective analysis for industrial process control is always interesting as not every ion has been covered? I think?
Since you are already in the DNA synthesis business how about extending this to bigger molecules /DNA sequences like a whole genome ? and dealing with the folding of the molecule. This sort of stuff would be useful to any of the companies that work in the field and maybe especially useful to those making new lifeforms. I have also wondered about how you attack the problem of DNA analysis with computer software instead of the cut and miss methods which seem to be the current go. ie. find a mouse with disease X and compare him to his brother and find the difference.
Applying existing techniques to a low cost market like xray diffraction analysis for metal identification to scrap metal recovery. a similar idea for plastic identification for all that plastic recovery that is currently done by low paid workers identifying the plastics by looking at the recycle code. When I was a kid I used to visit one of my dads orchardist mates and I was always constantly fascinated by the fruit sorting machines which basically just sorted by using conveyor belts and rotating the apples pears etc until they popped out the chute for the appropriate size. A similar idea for plastic recycling would be rather useful.

Andrew
.

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