In a sucking operation, predetermined amount of a sample is sucked by using a needle from a sample container in which the sample to be analyzed is contained. A sensor circuit, which is electrically conducted to the needle, outputs different levels of signals when a tip of the needle is in contact with liquid and when the tip of the needle is not in contact with liquid. A liquid-contacting detector detects whether the tip of the needle is in air or in liquid by comparing a sensor signal value obtained from a signal output from the sensor circuit during the sucking operation with a preset threshold value. An empty container determiner determines that the sample container is empty when the liquid-contacting determiner detects a change during the sucking operation that the tip of the needle is changed from being in liquid to being in air.

The present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for controlling preparation of a liquid mixture comprising an acid and its conjugate base or a base and its conjugate acid. The method comprises obtaining (S11) a composition for the liquid mixture to be prepared and determining (S12) a plurality of settings for controlling a preparation of the liquid mixture in one or more automated processes. The plurality of settings are provided (S13) to one or more control systems of the one or more automated processes. The present invention also relates to a buffer tool configured to perform the computer-implemented method, a buffer management system comprising the buffer tool, and a computer readable storage medium (25), having stored thereon a computer program which, when executed in a buffer tool, causes execution of the computer-implemented method.

An autosampler for a chromatograph includes a first injection port through which a sample is injected into a first analysis flow path of the chromatograph, a second injection port through which a sample is injected into a second analysis flow path of the chromatograph, a needle that is movable to both of the first injection port and the second injection port, and injects a sample into the first injection port and the second injection port, a first sample loop that stores a sample to be injected into the first analysis flow path, a second sample loop that stores a sample to be injected into the second analysis flow path, and a metering pump that loads a sample in the first sample loop and the second sample loop.

Machines and methods are for performing fully-automated biological evaluation and chemical analysis. A pretreatment module is used in treatments of enriching, concentrating and purifying a sample to be analyzed. A component separation module is used for carrying out separation of multiple compounds in mother liquor to be analyzed. A monitoring and identifying module is for monitoring and collecting chromatographic signals of the separated liquid effluent in real time, as well as quantitative detection of suspicious compounds. A component collection module is used in operations of collecting, transferring and dissolving, redissolving, and pipetting the separated liquid effluent. A biological evaluation module is for cell culture and detection of cytotoxic effect and toxic targets. A data processing and automated control module is for acquisition, arrangement and analysis of the integrated data. The machines and methods provide an efficient, stable and normalized standard operation condition for the screening of toxicity of compounds.

Automated fluid handling system comprising a housing and two or more fluid handling units arranged as interchangeable modular components with an external fluidics section and an internal non fluidics section, and wherein the housing comprises a liquid handling panel with two or more of component positions for receiving said interchangeable modular components such that the external fluidics section is separated from the non fluidics section by the liquid handling panel.

Various machine learning techniques can detect errors (e.g., leaking valves, column plugging) and other conditions (e.g., system readiness conditions like equilibration and priming) in LC devices. Examples of suitable AI/ML models include Bayesian hierarchical models, gradient boosted trees, and recurrent neural networks. Embodiments have shown expert-level identification of conditions based on a limited amount of signals data from the instrument (about 2 minutes' worth of data).

Provided is a unit-type analyzer (1) including: a system controller (80); a plurality of analyzing units (60), with each analyzing unit including a main power switch (70) configured to turn on and off electric power to the analyzing unit, and a software switch (66) provided separately from the main power switch configured to turn on and off a communication with the system controller; and a software-switch operation-mode setter (65) configured to perform a setting for enabling or disabling an operation on the software switch included in each analyzing unit.

A method for the automatic chromatography of thin-layer plates for thin-layer chromatography with a development chamber 1 in which a thin-layer plate D is completely enclosed, sealed-off and isolated from the external environment. In the development chamber, a front space containing an inner atmosphere is located on the front face of the separation layer of the thin-layer plate. The depth of the front space is about 2 mm and a maximum 3 mm. An inlet is provided at one end of the front space and an outlet is provided at the other end of the front space. During the chromatographic development, a stream of gas of particular composition determined by the user is created throughout the entire front space, the entire inner atmosphere being set in motion, without stagnant or stationary gas phase.

A gas chromatograph is provided with a communication unit, a setting processing unit, a first operation reception unit, and a maintenance processing unit. The communication unit communicates with an outside. The setting processing unit sets any one of the plurality of maintenance modes to a default maintenance mode in response to an input from the outside via the communication unit. The first operation reception unit is provided in the housing and is configured to accept a progress operation for progressing a maintenance sequence corresponding to the default maintenance mode. The maintenance processing unit progresses the maintenance sequence stepwise each time the progress operation is accepted by the first operation reception unit. The first operation reception unit is commonly used even in a case where any one of the plurality of maintenance modes is set to the default maintenance mode.

A gas chromatograph includes a display unit, indicators, and a display control unit. The gas chromatograph is provided with a plurality of units having the same function, and the indicators are each associated with any of the plurality of units. When the error has occurred in any of the plurality of units in the gas chromatograph, processing of the display control unit displays an error notification screen on a display screen of a display unit, and in addition, operates an indicator associated with the unit in which the error has occurred. Therefore, a user can recognize in which of the plurality of units the error has occurred.