Application and flexibility of robotics in automating extraction methods for food samples

Laboratory robotic technology has made it possible to automate the manually intensive operations associated with the extraction of vitamins from food. The modular approach to robotics allows the conversion from one extraction procedure to another by a simple addition or replacement of a module plus reprogramming. This is illustrated for the extraction of vitamins C and B1 from food samples. Because many of the organic micronutrients are unstable, storage and extraction conditions must be established to stabilize labile compounds if the full capabilities of robotics are to be realized.