The invention is an automated robotic
system for the production and testing of formulations at a very high
throughput. It is an integrated
system of hardware and
software capable of preparing and evaluating hundreds of emulsions per day. The
system can formulate aqueous solutions (SL),
oil in water emulsions (EW), suspo-emulsions (SE), micro
capsule suspensions (CS), micro-emulsions (ME), and suspension concentrates (SC) at the 1 ml to 25 ml scale. The system can process emulsions rapidly in an automated way and enable very flexible formulation recipes to be introduced. The system allows chemists to generate experimental samples of varying
recipe and method to be conducted in parallel with projected
throughput of up to 1200 formulations processed and characterized per day. Materials and
consumables can be distributed from storage storage systems to the work stations where dispensing of ingredients in various states can be performed, including solids, liquids, gels, pastes, suspensions and waxes. The emulsions formed can be characterized using methods including phase diagnosis,
turbidity analysis,
viscosity and particle
sizing using automated
test equipment. An integrated module can also perform Tank Mix
Compatibility testing in high
throughput mode. The
modular system allows future processes and tests to be added, either to a
station, or as a new
station. The
software capability includes tracking of processes from start to finish and the integration of analytical data with the as-designed and as-formulated experimental results.