Automation in new frontiers of bioanalysis: a key for quality and efficiency

“To achieve high efficiency and quality in these new frontiers, automation is a key component and needs to be explored, evaluated and exploited.” Bioanalysis, the quantitative determination of drugs and their metabolites in biological matrices, plays an important role in drug discovery and development. The most commonly used techniques in bioanalysis are LC–MS/MS for small-molecule drugs and ligand-binding assays for large-molecule biological drugs. A typical LC–MS/MS assay involves the following steps: ▪ Preparation of calibration standard (STD) and QC samples; ▪ Sample identity confirmation, sorting and organization; ▪ Sample aliquoting and dilution; ▪ Sample extraction (including liquid–liquid extraction [LLE], SPE,...