Automated Sample Preparation for Forensics, Toxicology, and Doping Control:
Sophisticated, Around the Clock and Unique
The FREESTYLE robotic system facilitates the sample preparation with an intelligent and elaborate automation even for difficult matrices in the field of forensic, toxicology, doping control, and drugs.
FREESTYLE even handles difficult to process matrices like brain or horse urine unattended and with excellent results. Cross-contamination is reliably avoided. Due to the flexibility of the system, the user can chose between different versions of sample loading and elution.
The FREESTYLE system has a modular set-up and can be equipped with different modules depending on the users’ applications, i.e. for the Solid Phase Extraction (SPE module), the evaporation (EVAporation module) or the gel permeations chromatography (GPC module).
For sample processing in doping control or for forensic respectively toxicological samples the FREESTYLE BASIC platform has to be equipped with the SPE module.
The most important feature of the FREESTYLE SPE is the solid connection of the SPE column with the robotic arm. This connection enables the movement of the columns to any area of the platform as well as the controlled pressure application of up to 4 bar.
With this positive pressure FREESTYLE can handle matrices reliably that can become blocked through suspended particles or due to their nature. Furthermore the flow rates can be exactly controlled resulting in precise elution.
>> FREESTYLE SPE in Forensics & Toxicology (Brochure) <<
In addition special designed plungers can be used that minimise the dead volume and enable an exact handling.
Higher flow rates and an optimised pressure control are further advantages using the plungers.
The selection of the methods and their parametrisation is done via the FREESTYLE software. The controlled pressure monitoring is a unique feature that enables the unattended processing of the samples around the clock.
If the defined pressure limit is exceeded, the system stops the sample processing, cleans itself and then continues with the next sample. The discontinued sample is marked in the sequence list so that the user can identify the sample and then process again.
More informationen to the robotic system FREESTYLE SPE and the dual SPE method
Determination of Drugs in Human Brain
Application note
In the following application note a new automated approach is described that uses the so-called bidirectional SPE (BD-SPE); this specific approach is used when either matrices that are difficult to process or cross-contamination has to be excluded.
Determination of Drugs in Human Blood
Application note
This application note describes a new procedure of sample loading: the bidirectional SPE (BD-SPE). With this procedure even very difficult matrices, like blood, can be processed automatically without supervision over 24 hours and 7 days per week.