News Medical talks to Bernd Gleixner, Division President Automation at Bruker Biospin about the future of lab automation and how to overcome the challenges that arise when trying to implement it.
Can you introduce ChemSpeed and company jobs?
ChemSpeed was founded 27 years ago by a former Russian employee. The company began in a garage near Basel and continued to scale up before being acquired by Blue Car last year. The acquisition adds to the lab's automation and digitization capabilities, and Bruker supports strategic growth as a trusted partner.
ChemSpeed provides chemist-based automation solutions for chemists. Supports accelerated science, R&D and QC by providing high quality data 24/7 via robotics and analysis tools. This data can be used to support AI applications to accelerate drug discovery and target the right molecules.
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As the Managing Director at ChemSpeed, what is your vision to promote laboratory automation across a variety of industries?
The biggest challenge and opportunity lies in seamlessly connecting high-quality data, from equipment to robotics, algorithms and AI. There is also a range of areas where we continue to improve machine-to-machine interactions to avoid mistranslations and complex interfaces.
ChemSpeed has long been recognized as a modular and scalable automation platform. How do you scale these capabilities in light of growing demand for end-to-end digital workflows?
Part of our plan is to track technological advances and utilize them wherever possible. For example, third generation robotics could provide new logistics opportunities that allow dots to be better connected.
A hybrid setup that combines manually operated workbenches or workflow segments with automated sections can work well when the basic data layer forms a kind of infrastructure and keeps things connected. These hybrid setups help speed up your implementation, automate sections of standard lab workflows, and move forward from there.
Making Labs' data infrastructure a high standard will also help when combining robots and manual workstations, allowing you to develop a roadmap to efficiently utilize the lab's existing assets, while efficiently utilizing the lab's existing assets, while efficiently utilizing the lab's existing assets. Full screen automatic system.
With Bruker's benchtop NMR systems increasingly automated, how do you see ChemSpeed's automation solution integrated with such analytical instruments for a seamless workflow?
It is important to remember that big monolithic systems don't always move forward. One of the advantages of benchtop systems is that they are relatively easy to install and maintain. For example, BenchTop NMR is a robust system that does not require helium.
These benchtop setups can be combined with robotics. For example, by adding synthesis functionality to the flow setup. This level of automation does not require many new interfaces, and can generate data, add an analysis layer to match this data, and combine it with AI to enable more efficient experimental designs.
This means feeding the generated data and analysis into an algorithm to define the next step in the experiment, then feeding seamlessly thereafter. For example, the combination of subclass benchtop equipment in a multimodality setup combining NMR and Raman spectroscopy adds a lot of value.
For example, explain the problems that Bruker package combinations solve for industry/pharma customers.
Bruker packages provide customer peace of mind. Buying different tools from different vendors and trying to set up yourself can waste valuable time. Scientists and PhDs should focus on answering important research questions rather than spending time setting up and integrating technology. Ready to use, easy to use, pre-qualified systems combine the specific areas of robotics, automated chemistry, and characterization methods that Bruker offers.
Multimodality and pre-cleaning are also key to performing efficient experiments. It's not always necessary to get the highest quality data, as faster methods and software augmentation can help streamline these processes.
Bruker's analytical capabilities are top-notch, so combining them with minimal interface requirements, pre-qualified setups, and sophisticated computing equipment selected and integrated by the team will bring great benefits to the industry. This also combines Bruker's excellent service and access to a single contact.
What were the biggest challenges you faced when implementing automation? Also, how did Bruker help simplify this transition?
Before investing in automation, there are four important questions you should ask yourself:
The first question is to ask why you are investing. This decision should be driven by science, and automation must contribute to the scientific problem we are trying to solve.
The second question concerns change management as the transition from human operation labs to robotics and automation is a major project that must be supported. Human staff make all the difference when it comes to whether the project is successful or not.
The third question concerns the impact of automation on the organization. For example, once automation is in place, you can have roles that are no longer needed, or you can create new roles with a focus on workflow programming and maintenance. These new roles also require training. This question is closely related to aspects of change management.
The fourth question is around the IT landscape. We usually work with a brownfield approach. Many different legacy systems need to be used to connect logically and persistently to automated systems that generate a lot of data. Data governance should also be considered. Data is important and determines what is needed to fill the gap from data to knowledge.
Sustainability and efficiency are top priorities for today's labs. How does ChemSpeed support the Green Lab Initiative through automation?
ChemSpeed is fully positioned to support green chemistry, with many client projects already working to become more sustainable.
Material efficiency is one of the fundamental challenges for any lab. To improve your lab, you simply need to use less materials. This is also connected to AI when it comes to planning. This is because efficient experimental design can be used to reduce the number of experiments required.
Another aspect of our work in this field is to help the scientific community become more resource-efficient and sustainable. For example, there are well-known mechanochemical processes in which reactions are triggered by mechanical forces such as grinding, and reactions are triggered by mechanical forces requiring solar power, battery research, and power-to-X green hydrogen research.
As automation becomes more intelligent, does ChemSpeed incorporate AI-driven workflows and smart decision-making tools into its automation platform?
Most of our systems are already connected to some smart tools or AI-driven workflows, completely removing the need for manual experimental design and speed-up processes. Whether this is open source or commercially available, latest software supports users who help them minimize bin-like activities and focus on answering scientific questions.
AI is becoming an important part of the lab environment, but this is just one factor. It is still important for lab staff to know what they are doing, so it focuses on implementing the possibilities of the technology in a way that allows them to understand science and answer big questions while also making it greener.
Looking at five years from now, what role do you expect chemical velocity to play in the formation of a fully autonomous laboratory?
ChemSpeed's location in the wider Blue Car family gives us plenty of opportunities. We have access to cutting-edge equipment from a wide range of industries and modalities, and there are many extremely powerful characterization methods.
Sister IDS focuses on data management using the Zontal platform that supports AI preparation. Continuing to combine robotics, data management capabilities and cutting-edge equipment, we can provide an increasingly seamless integrated DMTA (design, creation, testing, analysis) setup that helps accelerate science and answer the right questions.
Also, seeing more discussions with clients about the future of the lab, the chemistry speed is leaning towards the consulting field. The days when clients spent a lot of money on automating as independent transactions are over. And now the focus is on creating lasting real-world impacts.
ChemSpeed's partnership with Bruker has made us a key player in shaping the future of technology, combining increasingly central roles in supporting science.
About the speaker
Bernd Gleixner is currently the division president of Bruker Biospin, and is the role that Bruker, the Swiss Lab Automation Company, has envisioned following the acquisition of Chemspeed Technologies AG in March 2024. Since joining Bruker in 2016, he has overseen global procurement, production, logistics, quality, regulatory issues, EHS, and oversees the responsibility of the Managing Director for German and Swiss sites.
About Bruker Biospin – About NMR, EPR, and Imaging
Welcome to Bruker Biospin and the world's most comprehensive NMR and EPR spectroscopy and preclinical imaging research tools. The Bruker Biospin Group of Companies develops, manufactures and supplies research facilities, commercial and multinational companies in countless industries and areas of expertise.
Bruker Biospin continues to revolutionize the design, manufacture and distribution of life sciences, preclinical, process control and analytical research tools based on magnetic resonance and multimodal imaging techniques. Bruker Biospin is a global technology and market leader in magnetic resonance technology (NMR, EPR), offering the largest portfolio of preclinical and industrial research imaging modalities under a single brand.
