Chemspeed's solution
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is one of the most frequently used thermal analysis techniques. DSC is used to measure enthalpy changes due to changes in the physical and chemical properties of a material as a function of temperature or time.
The method allows you to identify and characterize materials and provides numerous applications in almost all branches of the chemical & pharmaceutical industry: compounds from APIs to polymers can be analyzed for glass transition, melting, crystallization degree, phase transition, protein denaturation and decomposition point.
Furthermore, DSC enables the investigation of chemical reactions, the influence of additives, fillers or the processing of materials. The typical shapes of the DSC curves of compounds or formulas is used for quality control. DSC is fast, very sensitive and easy to use.
However, the preparation of DSC samples with filling & closing of the crucibles is often still done manually and binds highly qualified resources to very time-consuming, tedious and error-prone tasks.
The SWILE technology enables automated true one-to-one gravimetric "pick & decision dispense" of solid compounds. The scheme at the bottom of this page displays the simplified SWILE workflow including the precision "pick & decision dispense" step. The technology backbone is based on Chemspeed’s proprietary overhead gravimetric dispensing tool design in combination with a second analytical on-deck-balance.
The modified 4-Needle Head Liquid Handling tool closes the DSC crucibles after the dispense and transports them into any kind of DSC device autosampler to provide ready-for-use DSC samples without manual interaction.
In order to exclude any risk of cross-contamination disposable glass tips are used which are stored and provided by the automated SWIN dispenser. The SWINs are available in different sizes (diameter) and can be adjusted according to the desired target amount to be dispensed. Additionally, a tilt / shake rack is used to loosening up and tilting the powder prior to pick-up.