The Digital Enabled Formulation Toolset (Deft) is a scalable, laboratory digital network product to connect and integrate bench-top instruments together in chemical formulation and R&D labs https://www.appliedst.co.uk/DEFT . Aimed at the bench scientist, Deft provides the ‘information gap’ when comparing manually made bench formulations or lab methods requiring pH monitoring 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. Deft can work as a stand-alone system or as part of an existing LIMS or ELN connected 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.

SiLA (Standardisation in Lab Automation) enables Lab-of-the-Future technology through free and open communication protocols and data standards. Applied Scientific Technologies (AST) have implemented the SiLA 2 communications protocol into a wide range of standard laboratory bench equipment linking them to Deft automatically allowing many bench experimental protocols and applications to be covered including balances, stirrer/shakers, pH and conductivity meters, Rheology and particle counters found in many formulation and R&D labs. The adoption of industry-leading SiLA standards helps to future proof lab equipment by enabling end-to-end integration with LIMS or local area networks with a control App for Android or iOS devices and by them to connect to each other are share data more seamlessly. www.sila-standard.com/

AST are the global specialists for SiLA 2 integration and development and the latest addition to our growing library of laboratory instruments includes a custom SiLA driver for the Julabo Presto A30. The Julabo Presto is a temperature control system with a working temperature range of -30 to 250 DegC. Control is managed via a touch screen interface on the front, allowing users to set the temperature and start/stop the unit. It can also be configured for remote operation via multiple interfaces including RS232.

In terms of comms for the Julabo Presto A30, we were initially interested in controlling the temperature setpoint and remotely starting or stopping the unit. Future development will look at incorporating further functionalities into DEFT, such as external temperature values, pressures etc.

Communication was handled via RS232 using a modified cable which connects to the front of the unit using a defined instruction set up which DEFT uses the following commands:

Deft Set Up 1 (3).jpg — Figure 2: Typical *Deft* digital connectivity network for laboratory equipment such as: balance, electronic pipettor, mixer/shaker/stirrer, balances and temperature probes

• Request Temperature

• Set Temperature

• Request Unit Status (On / Off)

• Switch Heating Control On

• Switch Heating Control Off

On the DEFT Gateway we created implementations for the following SiLA Features:

• Temperature Control - Which handles requesting and parsing the temperature reading and manages control of the temperature set point based on user input

• Operating Mode Control - Which handles requesting and parsing the unit status (On / Off) and manages toggling the status based on user input

Figure 3. Deft, Digital Enabled Formulation Toolset USPs

Formulation control is improved as it is easier to record and repeat experiments for reproducibility and confirmation of results. Sharing results with different labs or different sites is made simpler.

Implementing SiLA 2 drivers for this technology provides many benefits such as digitalisation 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 digitally, 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 seamlessly integrating into any digital laboratory or Lab-of-the-Future environment.

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 laboratory robotics, digital Lab-of-the-Future connectivity and hardware integration for the chemical, pharmaceutical, physical and life science industries supporting your laboratory digitalisation journey.

Adopting Standardisation in Lab Automation (SiLA) into a Lab-of-the-Future digital network - Deft and Julabo Presto A30