Liquid Handling Technologies: A Study through Major Discoveries and Advancements

Liquid handling is an essential process in laboratories involving automatically transferring accurate amounts of liquids for various task completions such as sample preparation, pipetting, dilution, and mixing. Automated liquid handling systems (ALHS) help to minimize the errors, complications, and difficulties that are faced with manual methods of liquid handling by efficiently enhancing the accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of experimental workflows and have transformed life sciences aiding research in various fields. Processes like Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and acoustic droplet ejection with ALHS showcase tremendous potential. Outdated manual machinery is being replaced rapidly with automated tools. We have observed that these laboratory setups are sophisticated and costly. It is challenging to access such technologies, especially in poor or developing countries. At the nanoscale level, handling and evaporation of biomaterials becomes a great issue. Multitudinous devices can combat the cost issue along with utilization of single equipment without the enhancement of add-on modules. Liquid handling devices enhance the quality of experiments contributing to efficient dealing of circumstances like COVID-19. They aid in genomics and proteomics and play a pivotal role in liquid manipulation, drug screening, quantifications, forensic studies and many more. Liquid handling devices with robotic equipment can perform multiple tasks and can assist in a wide range of fields. We anticipate that in the coming years, our laboratories will be furnished with advanced, robotic technologies and cause a revolution in the scientific scenery.