With the ever-increasing pressure for higher throughput and greater precision, liquid handling technology has significantly advanced in recent years. This, in turn, has eliminated the need for multi-step manual processes and has greatly improved laboratory efficiency and reproducibility. However, designing 'one system to suit all' has been the real industry challenge. This review looks at the wide use of dispensing technologies and the growing demand for instrument flexibility. There are several key factors that must be considered when developing a new dispensing system for use across a plethora of scientific disciplines. As many screening and biotech laboratories are integrating different research programmes into their laboratories, there is a real demand for flexible dispensing systems that can accommodate different protocols and experimental set ups. For example, in the high throughput screening laboratory an increased pressure to cut reagent costs has stimulated the use of smaller volumes, so the development of a precise, low-volume dispensing system is of great benefit. On the other hand, biotech applications can include genomic/proteomic as well as cell-based protocols, and such diversity demands the ability to work over a wide volume range and with various liquid viscosities. The challenge, therefore, has been to develop a high speed, high precision, bulk dispensing system that can meet the needs of a wide application range.
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