Watch the Video: Benefits of Using an Automatic Powder Dispensing System
Accurate, safe and efficient powder and liquid dispensing is now possible! Watch this video and see how easy it is with the XPR Automatic Balance.
Automated Powder Dispensing
Accurate, Safer and More Efficient Weighing of Powders
Automated powder dispensing is an approach that can save time and deliver highly reproducible results, giving you freedom to focus on other critical elements of your analysis.
The weighing of powders always presents a challenge, due to their variable nature and wide range of physical properties. Powders can vary greatly in density and particle size, leading to vastly different characteristics. For instance, they may be light and fluffy with a tendency to be electrostatically charged, heavy and free-flowing, crystalline with varying particle shapes, or sticky with a tendency to absorb moisture (hygroscopic). Some of these traits not only make these substances physically difficult to handle, but can also lead to weighing errors and incorrect measurements.
The weighing of powders is traditionally a manual operation and can be tedious and time consuming to perform. It can quickly become a bottleneck in a workflow, especially when weighing out multiple powders. The use of an automated powder scale, or balance, can help resolve this issue.
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The Challenges of Dispensing and Weighing Powders
Accuracy and Ease of Handling
Manually weighing out powders with a spatula can be a difficult, slow and repetitive task, particularly when many samples have to be weighed. It also takes a lot of skill and experience to weigh accurately in the low milligram range as the physical properties of different powders vary considerably; statically charged or hygroscopic samples can make that task even more difficult.
Safety
Hazardous and toxic substances, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, can pose a risk to health, even at the nanogram level. It is very easy for particles to become airborne, especially when dealing with light, low density and fluffy compounds, which need to be handled with extreme care.
Data Management and Traceability
All measurement and process data must be fully traceable and securely stored, and readily accessible for audit purposes.
Do You Need Advice?
Would you like to weigh solid substances faster and avoid repetitive, time-consuming manual steps? Or perhaps you want to take advantage of the lower minimum weights offered by automated solutions and use much less of precious substances? Do you want to improve user safety due to reduced exposure risk?
For further information or support regarding automated powder dispensing, our team of experts is here to help. Please do not hesitate to contact us.
METTLER TOLEDO's Solution for Automated Dispensing and Weighing of Powders
XPR Automatic Balance
Safety Benefits
Safety is a key advantage of the XPR Automatic Balance. Potentially harmful or unknown powders are stored in sealed dosing heads and simply clipped onto the balance when required, significantly reducing the exposure risk for the operator. Automated powder dispensing has a low risk of spillage and is carried out inside a closed system (draft shields). If necessary, the whole system can easily be placed inside a safety cabinet or glove box for a higher level of protection.
Increased Productivity
Precise and accurate dispensing of powders manually requires great concentration from the technician and has a high risk of human error, which can lead to out-of-specification (OOS) and out-of-tolerance (OOT) measurements. With automated weighing this error-risk is minimized and the operation is significantly faster.
Economical Substance Usage
Automated dispensing with the XPR Automatic Balance reduces the minimum net sample weight by up to 30%. This means possible saving of up to 75% of your valuable substance or rare samples, and consequently contributes to a fast return on investment.
Operation of the XPR Automatic Balance
- Attach the dosing head to the system. An RFID chip in the dosing head can store all the necessary information about the substance.
- Define the amount you wish to dispense and the acceptable tolerance.
- The system will dispense the requested amount, automatically record the measurement data and print it out, if required.
Automatic Documentation
The XPR Automatic Balance can be combined with LabX™ laboratory software for a full workflow solution offering the benefits of comprehensive data handling and sample tracking functionalities. All measurement and process data, including metadata, is stored in a secure centralized database and can be accessed instantly, so you can ensure that you are audit ready.
Automated Weighing With a Sample Changer: Increased Productivity and Throughput
Simply add a sample changer to your XPR Automatic Balance and dispense solids and liquids into up to 30 containers in one fully automated run! Our large portfolio of adapters supports many of the standard vials and containers used in a modern laboratory. In addition, we offer specific adapters for capsule filling applications.
CHRONECT XPR Robotic Powder Dispensing: Fully Automated Preparation of Multi-Component Formulations
A fully automated system with high throughput may be appropriate for situations where many powders need to be weighed in small quantities, for example, for catalyst screening, formulation experiments or solubility screening. The CHRONECT XPR Robotic Powder Dispensing platform can accurately weigh up to 32 different powders into as many as 288 vials in a single batch. The system can simultaneously house up to three different plates, accommodating between 36 (3 x 12) and 288 (3 x 96) vials or containers from 1 to 8 mL in volume.
See How You Can Benefit from Automated Powder Dispensing: An Application Example
ETC Powder Dispensing Case Study
Preparation of samples for analysis in pharmaceutical quality assurance or quality control (QA/QC), where active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are usually classed as unknown potency and must be considered as high risk.
High-Throughput Experimentation (HTE)
Weighing of powders for high-throughput experimentation (HTE) in pharmaceutical drug development. Powder weighing becomes a bottleneck when multiple powders need to be weighed in varying amounts to set up parallel experiments, such as salt screening or solubility screening applications. Faster results mean faster time to market and greater profitability.
Laboratory Safety
Laboratory safety, especially when handling toxic or hazardous substances, is of increasing importance to health and safety departments in many industries. This application note explains how using an XPR Automatic Balance for automated powder and liquid dispensing can significantly reduce exposure risk, and provide safety benefits to the researcher when handling toxic or hazardous compounds in the laboratory.
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Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ - Automated Powder Dispensing
I have a limited amount of substance available. How can I make it go further?
When using an XPR Automatic Balance, the minimum weight tends to be lower because automated weighing operations eliminate variability due to differences in sample handling between individual operators and the effects of external influences. This allows you to use less of your compound. When you also factor in the reduced risk of spillage with automated weighing, this makes it possible to use smaller amounts of precious substances with limited availability, making them go further.
I have problems with statically charged samples. What should I do?
There are many options to help reduce or eliminate electrostatic charging of samples or containers during weighing processes. Especially designed ionizer for the XPR Automatic Balance is effective in dissipating electrostatic charging of samples or containers as they are placed into or on the balance. Antistatic solutions are available from METTLER TOLEDO, and recent innovations in balance technology have made it possible to detect the influence of electrostatic charges on a measurement and correct for this effect.
I spend so much time weighing many different powder samples. How can I make it faster or more efficient?
Consider automating your powder weighing. The XPR Automatic Balance incorporates a long-established powder weighing technology that is capable of weighing many different types of powders with varying physical characteristics. You don't need to have a lot of material to start with, and it can free up a great deal of time by carrying out tedious and repetitive manual weighing tasks for you.