Integra VIAFLO Pipette - Adopting SiLA drivers into a Lab-of-the-Future lab digital network
The ‘Deft’ Digtial Enabled Formulation Toolkit – Integra VIAFLO Pipette
Deft is a scalable, laboratory digital network product to manage and control experimental design and workflow of bench-top instruments together in any type of laboratory but especially for chemical formulation and R&D labs. Deft can work as a stand-alone system or as part of an existing LIMS integration infrastructure. At the heart of the system is the Deft Gateway which combines Bluetooth instrument connectivity with Wi-Fi protocol to connect the lab instruments to any secure in-house or cloud-based server network. Aimed at the bench scientist, Deft provides the ‘information gap’ when comparing manually made bench formulations and has a host of additional features such as experimental design, workflow control, remote access, audit trail and Asset Management worthy of a fully digital Lab-of-the-Future program.
Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) have implemented the SiLA 2 communications protocol into a wide range of standard lab bench equipment linking to Deft. SiLA (Standardisation in Lab Automation) enables Lab-of-the-Future technology through free and open communication protocols and data standards. The adopting of SiLA helps to future proof lab equipment by enabling end-to-end integration with lab instruments and allowing them to connect to each other are share data more seamlessly. www.sila-standard.com/
AST are the global specialists for SiLA driver development and the latest addition to our growing library includes a custom SiLA driver for the Integra Biosciences VIAFLO electronic Bluetooth™ enabled pipettors. The Integra VIAFLO is a hand-held, lightweight electronic pipette that can be used to aspirate, dispense and mix fluids offering remote control functionality via Bluetooth or serial connection, delivering a high productivity solution for any laboratory pipetting application. https://www.appliedst.co.uk/DEFT
The Integra VIAFLO electronic pipette was integrated into the Deft system via the deployment of a SiLA feature which enables remote communication between a Deft tablet App (SiLA Client) and the VIAFLO pipette via the Deft Gateway (SiLA Server). The Integra VIAFLO is first attached wirelessly to the Deft Gateway which enables communication with the pipette by parsing and relaying information and commands from the pipette to connected clients and vice versa. https://www.integra-biosciences.com/germany-austria/en/electronic-pipettes
The tablet connects to the Gateway enabling control and monitoring of the Integra pipette remotely by interacting with the commands and properties for pipetting protocols defined in the SiLA feature. In this way, the pipette can be used within experiments for the addition of reagents or sampling of contents for analysis. The pipette can be used in combination with other instruments such as heater/stirrers, balances, vacuum pumps, rheology instruments typically associated with formulation laboratories.
Implementing SiLA drivers for this technology, provides many benefits such as digitisation information capture and standard Deft benefits which include specific user experimental design and workflow integration via an Android Tablet or mobile phone App. The Tablet App GUI is intuitive and requires no formal training. The App allows many functions that are not possible when using the device alone such as capturing all communication and data, allowing the device to be controlled wirelessly and automatically run multiple experiments in sequence under user control. Deft is cloud-ready to allow Asset Management, remote access and over-the-air updates as seamlessly integrates into any digital laboratory project.
Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) is an emerging, innovative spin-out company founded in 2017 based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire. Founded by two directors from Applied Integration UK Ltd, a company celebrating its 15th working anniversary. AST are innovative specialists in robotics, automated control systems and hardware integration in the laboratory, chemical, pharmaceutical, physical and life science industries supporting your laboratory digitalisation journey.