The importance of automated sample management systems in realizing the potential of large compound libraries in drug discovery

Biomolecular screening is now enabled at a far greater scale than ever before due to the explosion of available libraries and targets. By the early '90s, however, it was becoming clear that the potential number of tests which could be done (theoretically the product of available test compounds multiplied by identified biological targets) was, in practice, being severely limited by the logistics of handling and preparing samples at rates exceeding 10,000 compounds per day. What was required was, in effect, a "sample supermarket" to feed screening research. This article describes the development of a solution to this problem, called Haystack, which was designed to be this sample supermarket, but with the addition of extensive use of robotics and computer based automation to reduce the scope for human error. The Haystack system consists of three broad types of modules which are: Sample Storage and Retrieval, Sample Dispensing and Preparation, and Sample Tracking and Data Management.