Articulated Arm System: a platform whereby a CRS robotic, articulated arm controlled by the Polara software (Thermo Electron Corp.) moves across a 3m rail. The system consists of the following units:

»	Biomek FX liquid handler (Beckman), equipped with either a 96 or 384-channel disposable tip pipetting head, shaking, heating/cooling, and vacuum filtration options, stacker carousel for extra supply and storage of plates or tip boxes, span-8 (independent 8-channel pipettor) and adaptability to 96- or 384-pin tool (V&P Scientific) for nanoliter dispensing of compound libraries;
»	CO2 incubator (HotPack, CRS Robotics) with 160 microplate capacity;
»	Multimek™ 96/384-Channel Automated Pipettor (Beckman), adaptable to 96- and 384-pin tool dispensing;
»	ELx405™ Magna washer (Biotek), for 96-well plate applications that require magnetic bead technology;
»	EMBLA washer (Molecular Devices), for 96- and 384-well microplate washing, ideal for ELISAs and most cell applications;
»	Multidrop 384 (Thermo Electron Corp.) for rapid bulk reagent dispensing, generally in the range 50-200 μl, into 384- and 96-well plates;
»	Magnetic hotels (4 plate capacity) for the application of bead-based technologies;
»	Refrigerated incubator (CRS Robotics) with shaking capability;
»	CLIPR Luminescence detector (Molecular Devices), a CCD camera based luminescence reader suitable for glow-type luciferase reporter end reads;
»	2102 EnVision Xcite multilabel reader, to perform measurements of Absorbance, Fluorescence Intensity, Fluorescence Polarization, Time-Resolved Fluorescence, or Luminescence. Upgraded with dual detection, enhanced luminescence capability and AlphaScreen™ XXX option;
»	SpectraMax Plus384 and Gemini XPS readers (Molecular Devices), for filter-free spectrophotometric and fluorometric determinations, respectively.
»	Barcode reader.

CRS Dimension4™ Modular Automation Platform: a new generation design with innovative concepts in lab automation. This is a system whereby general limitations of single-robot configurations are overcome by the combination of a 3m conveyor belt (linear plate transport or LPT) and a series of small robotic arms (flip movers), each of which connects the belt to the a specific peripheral. The rapid and syncronized action of conveyor belt and flip movers, which cover the entire set of instrumentation, permit the execution of different tasks simultaneously.

The Dimension4™ platform is configured by the following peripherals:

»	Biomek FX liquid handler (Beckman), equipped with either a 96 or 384-channel disposable tip pipetting head, shaking, heating/cooling, and vacuum filtration options, span-8 (independent 8-channel pipettor) and adaptability to 96- or 384-pin tool (V&P Scientific) for nanoliter dispensing of compound libraries; connected to a carousel housing 40 tip boxes via a vertical robot (VAL, Thermo Electron Corp.).
»	ELx405™ Magna washer (Biotek), for 96-well plate applications that require magnetic bead technology;
»	EMBLA washer (Molecular Devices), for 96- and 384-well microplate washing, ideal for ELISAs and most cell applications;
»	Multidrop 384 (Thermo Electron Corp.) for rapid bulk reagent dispensing, generally in the range 50-200 μl, into 384- and 96-well plates;
»	PHERAstar reader (BMG Labtech), a sensitive reader capable to perform the entire set of non-isotopic measurements such as Absorbance, Fluorescence, Time-Resolved Fluorescence, Fluorescence Polarization, Luminescence, and AlphaScreen™;
»	FLUOstar Optima reader (BMG Labtech), another multifunctional plate readers that can be used for Absorbance, Fluorescence, Time-Resolved Fluorescence, and Luminescence. Outfitted with two on-board injectors for fast kinetic studies;
»	Cytomat, microplate hotel (Thermo Electron Corp.), for room-temperature storage of up to 180 microplates;
»	Storex 40 (LiCONiC Instruments), for microplate incubations in the 4-20°C temperature range, with shaking option, humidity and CO2 levels control;
»	Cytomat 6000 (Thermo Electron Corp.), a CO2 incubator with up to 189 microplate capacity for cell-based methodologies;
»	Delidding station and optional lid storage (Thermo Electron Corp.);
»	Barcode reader;
»	Magnetic hotel (8 plate capacity) for the application of bead-based technologies.

»	Biomek FX liquid handler (Beckman), equipped with either a 96 or 384-channel disposable tip pipetting head, shaking, heating/cooling, and vacuum filtration options, stacker carousel for extra supply and storage of plates or tip boxes, and span-8;
»	Sciclone inL10™ (Caliper LifeSciences). A fluidics-based liquid handler for nanoliter pipetting within the 10 nl - 10 μl range into 96-, 384- and 1536-well plates. Equipped with a 96-channel head and a separate Z-8™ pipettor, the workstation can be programmed in order to dispense different volumes in each well, enabling for example plate normalization and serial dilution in a single step. This machine can be used to print chemical and RNAi libraries into 96-well plates, library realiquotting, "hit" picking; large-scale PCR plate preps, assay miniaturization; sample preparation for Mass Spectrometry; etc. The Sciclone liquid handler is coupled to a Twister II® robotic arm (Caliper LifeSciences) and 6 plate stackers, thereby configuring an independent ministation programmable for walk-away, long-term operations.
»	Mosquito® pipettor (TTP Labtech), a compact, benchtop instrument for applications in 96-, 384- and 1536-well formats. The machine dispenses volumes in the range 50 nl - 1.2 μl employs via positive displacement technology, thereby ensuring lack of cross-contaminations. The Mosquito is an ideal tool for crystallography screens, to which the machine is primarily dedicated in our lab.
»	ELx405™ Magna washer (Biotek);
»	Multidrop 384 (Thermo Electron Corp.);
»	AquaMax DW4 (Molecular Devices), a non-contact, fixed tips liquid handling system for rapid dispensing and washing applications in either 96- or 384-well plate formats.