Fully Autonomous Solubility Workstation for Small Molecule Drug Development

The pursuit of fully autonomous laboratories aims to integrate sample preparation and analytical analysis into seamless, high-throughput workflows that accelerates drug development. The goal of these platforms is to reduce the time scientists spend performing routine unit operations through the implementation of lab automation technologies to repurpose that time for experimental design and interpretation of results. These systems can operate independently outside of standard working hours, increasing the throughput opportunity for analytical screening while providing a foundational building block toward labs of the future.

GSK is committed to driving the future of lab automation through the development of these innovation goals and has invested in the development of a fully autonomous solubility workstation at their US facility. This presentation will detail the design and implementation of this system, its end-to-end functionalities, and how it’s utilized within R&D. At its core is an ABB robotic arm that coordinates a Labman solid dispensing platform, a Hamilton liquid handler, and an Agilent 1290 HPLC through Green Button Go. We will showcase the integrated workflow where the Hamilton platform performs routine sample preparations, including powder reconstitution, incubation, filtration, and dilutions for both organic and biorelevant media. The versatility of the system will be demonstrated through its application to critical drug development workflows, including drug substance/product solubility and forced-nitrosation studies. Ultimately, we will show how this integration not only accelerates data delivery but also significantly enhances laboratory safety, freeing our expert scientists to focus on innovation and data interpretation rather than routine sample handling.