High Throughput Applications

We are equipped with a large set of robotic formulation devices that can accommodate a large set of ingredient dosings in various concentrations to deliver final library compositions. Compositions can vary from powders over low viscosity aqueous or organic liquids/solutions to high viscosity solutions/dispersions. Both, streamlined commercial robotic platforms as well as custom made robotic systems are available.

Our large set of screening devices is specifically adapted to the needs of HT formulation technologies. These screening devices can cope with the requested speed for fast analysis of formulated compositions (solutions, dispersions, inks, …) and layered coated samples. Both, commercially available systems as well as custom-made robots have been implemented.

With our large set of coating, dispensing and jetting robots we can create libraries of coated samples with high reliability and with limited time. For the jetting robots we also have a large variety of screening methods to study the jetting process itself.

High Throughput Technologies are typically employed in the context of combinatorial testing approaches, making use of advanced experimental planning (prior to formulation and screening) and evaluation (after formulation, coating and screening). Design-of-Experiment and Analysis-of-Experiment knowledge is available in order to improve development and optimization processes.

For many HT techniques the optimal tools of choice are not always commercially available. Based upon customer needs available workflows and/or robots can be adapted or constructed so that the real bottleneck in the HT process is tackled. In that context, Machine Vision, Image analysis, Device Synchronization, PLC and Labview programming are frequently used.

• Proposal for combinatorial approach with optimum number of sample in DoE strategy
• Combinatorial formulations comprising solids and liquids
• Homogenization of combinatorial formulations using high-shear or ultrasonic techniques
• Screening of combinatorial formulations for properties, such as viscosity, surface tension, particle size, optical properties, …
• Coating of combinatorial formulations on rigid or flexible substrates and curing (thermal, UV)
• Screening of coated layers for typical properties such as adhesion, swelling, curing, scratch resistance, chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, static and dynamic friction, optical properties, dynamic vapor sorption (DVS), tensile and flexible resistance
• Jetting of jettable combinatorial formulations and screening for requested material properties
• Analysis of collected properties with statistical analysis tools
• Development of custom-made workflows / robots for evaluation of properties for which no commercially available technique exists

• Formulation techniques for powders (Symyx Autodose Powdernium)
• Formulation techniques for liquids (Sias, Gilson, custom made robots to dose higher viscous materials)
• Coating techniques (Braive A3-A5 size), custom-made small-size parallel coating technique
• Spaying technique

• Surface Tension (Kibron Delta-8 robot)
• Viscosity (CambridgeVisco, custom made device)
• Abrasion (custom made device)
• Optical transmission / reflection (custom made device)
• Chemical resistance (custom made device)
• Particle size distribution (Nicomp, Accusizer)
• Filtration characteristics (custom made device)
• Scratch resistance (custom made device based on ISO 4586-2:2004(E))
• Machine Vision / Image analysis tools for versatile coating quality assessment
• Jetting characteristics (Dimatix, Microdrop, custom made devices)

• Friction testing (custom made device)
• Micro-Swelling (custom made device)
• Vapor sorption analysis (SGA 100, VTI)
• Taber testing (custom made device)
• Tensile, flexible and friction testing at normal and higher temperature (INSTRON 4469)
• Adhesion (custom made device)
• High speed video analysis (Phantom, Sensicam)
• Materials deposition via jetting techniques (Dimatix, Microdrop)