The role of the automation development group in analytical research and development at Dupont Merck

Laboratory robotics has been firmly established in many non-QClaboratories as a valuable tool for automating pharmaceuticaldosage form analysis. Often a single project or product line is usedto justify an initial robot purchase thus introducing robotics to thelaboratory for the first time. However, to gain widespread acceptancewithin the laboratory and to justify further investment in robotics,existing robots must be used to develop analyses for existing manualmethods as well as new projects beyond the scope off the originalpurchase justification. The Automation Development Group inAnalytical Research and Development is a team of analystsprimarily devoted to developing new methods and adapting existingmethods for the robot. This team approach developed the expertiseand synergy necessary to significantly expand the contribution ofrobotics to automation in the authors'' laboratory.