This Xantus has been customised using standard modules and configured to automate NMR set up.

With a vast working area, the system moves the tubes between 12 different temperature zones according to the method defined on their barcodes, takes readings in the NMR reader, and reports each result into the LIMS using XML.

The Xantus platform offers unrivalled flexibility when it comes to customisation. In this case, the X range has been expanded to 3.1 m to allow sufficient space for parallel processing of several hundred NMR tubes. The robotic arms have been equipped with a specialized gripping tool to carry the NMR tubes and deliver them to the defined destination. The gripper tool incorporates a sensor to detect broken vials.

The samples can be single tubes or clusters (samples in clusters are processed sequentially and identically). Individual methods are defined by the sample barcode, defining its route through the system, with individual settings for the time at each required temperature and the reading interval. Up to 20 different methods can be run on the system at the same time. The method can take from 8 to 48 hours, and the system is capable of 24/7 operation, continuously accepting and scheduling samples.

The advanced scheduling software can schedule sample paths several months in advance, and the system can run reliably unattended, due to the extreme precision of the Xantus movement. Data is exchanged on a continuous basis between the Lab database and the Xantus run database.

The scheduling software organizes each sample to ensure it is processed correctly, and making allowance for the tube capacity of each temperature station.

Key features of this system include the flexibility of the Xantus, the ease of customising Xantus to provide a very large deck area, ease of incorporating functional modules (e.g. temperature stations) and sophisticated method and scheduling software developed by the supplier of this unit using the Sias Software Developer Kit.

For more information about this application, please contact our sales partner LAT A/S