SLAS Europe 2026 Solutions Spotlight Presentations
Solutions Spotlights are 20-minute presentations by exhibitors that highlight a new technology or a customer case study.
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FORMULATRIX - Where Computation Meets Wet-Lab: Formulatrix Liquid Handling as the Execution Layer for Machine-Learning Drug R&D
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
As machine-learning workflows take a larger role in drug discovery, the bottleneck has shifted from prediction to physical execution: turning model-generated plans into precise, reliable wet-lab actions. This talk covers how the FORMULATRIX liquid-handling portfolio-the MANTIS, TEMPEST, F.A.S.T., and FLO i8 PD-provides an AI-friendly execution layer for closed-loop R&D at highly miniaturized volumes.
The MANTIS and TEMPEST deliver ultra-low-volume, high-precision dispensing that supports rapid, low-cost iteration of assay conditions. Their open API has been used to integrate these systems in many automated workflows over the past 10+ years. The F.A.S.T. extends this low-volume expertise using positive-displacement tips with superb sub-microliter accuracy down to 0.1 µL and a new expanded range up to 50 µL. The redesigned FLO i8 PD adds non-contact dispensing (NCD) to 8 independently controlled channels that can access a wide range of labware, handling transfer volumes from 1 mL down to 200 nL NCD droplets for maximum workflow flexibility in a single system. The REST API of the FAST and FLO enables easy integration and direct control from ML-driven orchestration tools.
Together with our industry-leading support team, these systems offer a precise and reliable physical layer that computational pipelines can trust. Each instrument reports detailed dispense metrics and run data, ensuring that model-directed experiments are executed as intended and can be reproduced. This execution fidelity is what ultimately enables machine-learning models to close their experimental loops at speeds and scales that meaningfully accelerate drug discovery.
REVVITY - Accelerating Discovery with Revvity's newest HCS Platform
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Accelerating Discovery with Revvity's newest HCS Platform
CENEVO - From Digital to Agentic: Industry Insights on the Future of Lab Operations
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
The life sciences industry is entering a new era of transformation, where digital infrastructure is no longer the end goal, but the foundation for more intelligent, connected and increasingly AI-driven lab operations.
Hear from Cenevo as they reveal the results of their latest industry survey, conducted with more than 100 life sciences professionals, offering new insight into how organisations are progressing from digital adoption toward agentic lab operations. As labs face growing pressure to improve speed, scalability, and scientific quality, this session will examine automation, connectivity, data and AI as the critical enablers of the next generation research environments.
Drawing on the exclusive findings, learn how the industry is viewing digital maturity in the age of AI, which agents are beginning to influence decision-making and workflow execution, and what labs see as the priorities and key building blocks for an adaptive and future-ready operating model.
Cenevo will showcase how they are helping labs accelerate with AI beyond disconnected digital tools towards a connected, agentic lab - based on efficient workflows, strong data foundations and a clear path to the AI lab of the future.
OPENTRONS - Closing the gap between intent and execution in the lab
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
AI is rapidly reshaping laboratory automation, moving beyond static scripting toward systems that can reason, perceive, and act in the physical world. In this session, Brian O'Sullivan (Opentrons) explores what's next for AI-enabled labs as large language models, computer vision, and robotics converge. He'll examine how LLMs are evolving from tools that translate scientific intent into executable workflows into components of adaptive systems that plan experiments, interact with robotic platforms, and respond to changing requirements. He'll also highlight the growing role of vision-based and multi-modal models for verification, real-time monitoring, and in-run adjustment. Looking ahead, Brian introduces emerging vision-language-action approaches that unify planning, perception, and execution, connecting digital intelligence with physical lab automation.
OMEGA BIO-TEK - Addressing Large-Volume Plasmid Extraction Bottlenecks Through a Fully Automated Workflow
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
High-throughput labs shouldn't have to choose between scale and simplicity. This spotlight talk showcases a fully automated workflow for endotoxin-free plasmid DNA purification that eliminates manual bottlenecks and streamlines large-volume processing. Utilizing a magnetic bead-based approach, this solution enables true hands-off purification directly from bacterial pellets while maintaining consistency and reproducibility. Discover how easily this workflow scales from midi- to mega-preps while delivering high-quality plasmid DNA ready for the most demanding downstream applications.
BECKMAN COULTER - From an Acoustic Dispenser Solo to an Access Automation Orchestra: Axxam's Journey into the Nanoliter Scale Symphony of Compound Management
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Open to view video. | Closed captions available
The continuous evolution of high throughput screening workflows has pushed Axxam's Compound Management group to adopt increasingly precise, flexible, and automation ready dispensing technologies. One of the major milestones Axxam has encountered was the introduction of Beckman Coulter's Echo acoustic dispensing technology, marking a decisive shift toward nanoliter scale operations and enabling higher accuracy, reduced compound consumption, and improved overall process reproducibility.
Implementing the Echo acoustic dispenser represented both a technological opportunity and a substantial organizational challenge that required coordinated adaptations across multiple domains: reformatting compound libraries, rethinking storage strategies, redesigning operational routines, and restructuring data capture and governance within corporate databases. This foundational work created the conditions necessary for sustainable scale.
Over time, Axxam progressively expanded and refined its acoustic driven workflows. Throughout this process, close collaboration with Beckman Coulter played a crucial role in identifying and resolving emerging bottlenecks, optimizing throughput, and adapting the technology to our specific operational requirements.
The major breakthrough in this journey was the integration of two Echo instruments into a fully automated, custom engineered robotic platform. Rather than providing an out of the box system, Beckman Coulter co designed with Axxam an automation architecture tailored to our needs, space constraints, and existing instrumentation. The result is a modular, scalable, and highly reliable automation environment capable of managing complex and demanding dispensing campaigns with minimal manual intervention.
Today, what began as a single acoustic dispenser operating in isolation has evolved into a fully orchestrated ecosystem supporting Axxam's compound management activities. This presentation will detail the strategy, key decisions, and challenges across this multi year transformation, highlighting how a collaborative, integration focused partnership with Beckman Coulter enabled Axxam to build a nanoliter scale "orchestra" that continues to drive innovation and efficiency across our discovery platform.
COLLABORATIVE DRUG DISCOVERY - Turning raw lab output into actual insights
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
As laboratories scale through automation, the primary bottleneck often shifts from physical throughput to data integration. Fragmented tools create "data silos" that require manual intervention and hinder real-time decision-making. This talk explores how a unified informatics foundation bridges the gap between automated hardware and the digital record.
By integrating core functions, such as entity registration, inventory management, and assay capture, platforms like CDD Vault provide a scalable "single source of truth." We will discuss how leveraging APIs and FAIR principles ensures that automated data remains contextualized and reproducible. Attendees will learn how a connected digital ecosystem eliminates manual workflows and transforms raw automated output into standardized, research-ready insights.
MICRONIT B.V. - How to create and develop life-changing solutions with microfluidic technology
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Micronit is the leading partner in microfluidics with over 25 years of experience. We accelerate innovation through seamless collaboration across design, engineering, and production. With advanced cleanroom facilities and flexible manufacturing capabilities, we bring ideas to life and enable effortless scaling, from Lab-on-a-Chip to high-quality microfluidic components.
In this spotlight presentation we will highlight various product showcases demonstrating the added value of microfluidic technology in lab workflow automation and cell therapy manufacturing.
POTATO - AI agents for closed-loop, autonomous science
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Potato is a seed stage company building AI agents for autonomous science. In this spotlight, Nick Edwards, PhD, CEO and founder, will share their latest technology focused on closed-loop assay development. The platform facilitates efficient design of experiments and enables flexible integration with lab automation, shortening experimental cycle time and reducing the number of iterations.
HAMILTON - Hamilton Latest Innovations in Laboratory Automation 2026
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
At Hamilton, innovation continues to shape the future of laboratory automation, addressing the evolving needs of life science and diagnostic laboratories. This session will present an overview of recent developments in liquid handling, sample storage and management, and the software ecosystems that enable seamless integration, intuitive user experience, and interoperability across these technologies.
We will highlight solutions introduced over the past year, along with selected upcoming releases, focusing on how hardware and software converge to create more connected, efficient, adaptable, and sustainable laboratory workflows. Participants will gain insight into how these innovations improve workflow efficiency, scalability, and data management, while addressing increasing operational complexity and sustainability requirements.
BECKMAN COULTER - Dianthus uHTS and Echo Acoustic Liquid Handling: Advancing Biophysical High-Throughput Screening and Dose-Response Assays
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Spectral Shift assays, pioneered by NanoTemper Technologies, use precision optics and proprietary fluorescence probes to rapidly evaluate molecular binding to biological targets. These mix-and-measure assays are binding-site agnostic, making them well-suited for screening novel targets with unknown modes of action. The latest ultra-high-throughput (uHTS) Dianthus instrument takes this capability further, processing a 1536-well plate in under 8 minutes and generating over 250,000 data points per day.
During development and beta testing of the Dianthus uHTS, the Echo acoustic liquid handler proved to be a natural complement, enabling the rapid design and precise execution of both single-point screens and follow-up dose-response confirmations. Together, the Dianthus uHTS and Echo instruments support exceptional reproducibility across plates and days, robust Z' scores, and outstanding signal-to-noise ratios in titrations.
This talk reviews our joint work integrating the Echo acoustic liquid handler into a Spectral Shift screening workflow, with a focus on assays targeting novel binders to the E3 ligase Cereblon, and highlights the reproducibility and robustness achieved when combining both instruments.
BLUECATBIO - Automating High-Throughput Flow Cytometry Sample Prep with the Blue®CombiX
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Automating High-Throughput Flow Cytometry Sample Prep with the Blue®CombiX: Gentle Centrifugation, Efficient Washing, and Seamless Integration.
Flow cytometry sample preparation remains a labor-intensive bottleneck in high-throughput drug discovery and cellular assay workflows. This presentation introduces the Blue®CombiX - BlueCatBio's latest instrument designed to fully automate all spindown, washing, and reagent addition steps for flow cytometry sample prep at scale.
The Blue®CombiX, part of the modular Blue®CatX platform, combines centrifugation and centrifugal liquid evacuation in a single instrument footprint. Using the proprietary Blue®Plate consumable with its Cell®Safe reservoir technology, cells are gently settled without pellet formation. The patent-pending Blue Cap waste removal system eliminates cross-contamination between centrifugation and evacuation cycles - a key challenge in combined-function instruments.
We will present workflow data demonstrating how the Blue®CombiX reduces total run time and tip consumption compared to conventional approaches while maintaining data quality. The system supports 6- to 1536-well plate formats and integrates readily into automated screening lines via external robotics or the available autoloader.
Together, the Blue®Plate and Blue®CombiX offer a scalable, cost-effective solution for labs seeking to bring consistency, throughput, and automation to flow cytometry sample preparation - from early research to high-content screening campaigns.
WEGA INFORMATIK A.G. - When Lab Information Management Meets Lab Automation: LIMS-driven Laboratory Workflow Automation
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Laboratory workflow automation is essential for boosting throughput and ensuring consistent, standardized operations. By integrating LIMS with Lab Automation Scheduling Systems, workflows can be orchestrated directly from LIMS data. This seamless connection safeguards data integrity, reduces manual intervention, and enables transparent, compliant, end to end automation. A show case.
NOVA BIOMEDICAL - Rethinking Volume Verification in Automated Workflows - From Hidden Risk to Measurable Confidence
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Open to view video. | Closed captions available
Volume accuracy is one of the most frequently executed yet least systematically verified operations in the modern automated laboratory. While significant resources are devoted to instrument qualification, software validation, and reagent lot testing, the assumption that every liquid transfer delivers the intended volume remains largely unexamined. This keynote explores the downstream consequences of that assumption and argues for a shift from calibration-based inference to per-sample volumetric verification.
We examine five common failure modes in automated liquid handling tip wetting variation, bubble-induced air gaps, reservoir evaporation, viscosity-driven lag, and tip seating inconsistency that produce measurable downstream variation without triggering instrument alarms. Using generalized data examples from high-throughput screening, next-generation sequencing library preparation, and qPCR workflows, we show how a 2-10 percent volumetric deviation at the point of transfer can compound into 15-40 percent downstream variation after amplification, normalization, and interpretation.
We also review current verification approaches and their limitations, and discuss how real-world deployments of multichannel verification systems have revealed root causes that would otherwise remain undetected: single-channel deviations, specification-passing instruments driving plate-level anomalies, and gaps in volumetric data records that fail regulatory scrutiny.
This presentation is not a product pitch. It is an argument that independent volume verification should become as standard in the automated laboratory as positive controls are in assay design. For practitioners who design, qualify, or depend on automated workflows, this talk offers a framework for viewing volumetric accuracy not as an engineering specification, but as a data-integrity requirement.