Leveraging Flexible Pipette-based Tool Changes to Transform Liquid Handling Systems into Dual-Function Sample Preparation and Imaging Platforms

In soft materials synthesis, such the synthesis of hydrogels, the rapid self-assembly and poor mechanical strength of these transient materials systems limit the applicability of many useful experimental characterization techniques. This limited applicability is because often the act of transferring these materials to a suitable imaging platform is either too slow to capture the process of interest or it is impossible to safely transfer the material from the synthesis vessel to the characterization equipment. In addition, the variable nature of these materials requires many experiments to be conducted to understand the underlying structure-property relationships that govern these transient materials. In this work we present a new hardware platform to address this experimental gap. This hardware integrates simultaneous pipetting and in-situ imaging using the Opentron OT-2 liquid handling robot. The 3D printed apparatus acts as an adapter with two cylindrical openings, one containing the pipette tip to gantry adapter, and the other containing a USB camera. When the pipetting gantry picks up the pipette tip, the entire apparatus is lifted, which allows the camera to be used during the operation. This system enables real-time monitoring and characterization of dynamic processes, such as hydrogel crosslinking, without manual intervention. We used this system to characterize several ionically crosslinked hydrogels, and monitored their properties over time, in a high-throughput and combinatorial manner. Although ionically crosslinked hydrogels were used as a proof-of-concept, this platform has potential applications across various materials systems, including crystallization dynamics, polymerization kinetics, and drug delivery system development.在软物质合成领域，例如水凝胶的合成中，这类瞬态材料体系所具备的快速自组装特性与较差的机械强度，限制了诸多实用实验表征技术的应用场景。这种应用受限的原因在于：将此类材料转移至适配的成像平台时，要么耗时过长而无法捕获目标动态过程，要么无法安全地将材料从合成容器转移至表征设备中。此外，这类材料的特性具有可变性，因此需要开展大量实验以阐明支配此类瞬态材料的内在结构-性能关联机制。本研究提出一款全新的硬件平台，以填补这一实验研究空白。该硬件依托Opentron OT-2液体处理机器人，实现了移液与原位成像的同步集成。这款3D打印装置作为转接件，带有两个圆柱形开孔：其一用于安装吸头-机械臂转接件，其二用于搭载USB摄像头。当移液机械臂夹取吸头时，整套装置会同步抬起，从而可在移液操作过程中启用摄像头进行成像。该系统可在无需人工干预的前提下，实现水凝胶交联等动态过程的实时监测与表征。本研究利用该系统对多款离子交联型水凝胶开展表征，并以高通量、组合式的方式实时追踪其随时间变化的性能。尽管本研究以离子交联型水凝胶作为概念验证对象，但该平台可应用于诸多其他材料体系的研究，例如结晶动力学、聚合反应动力学以及药物递送系统开发等场景。