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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Keng Wooi NgORCiD, Dr Wing Man LauORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The Franz diffusion cell (FDC), widely used for measuring drug absorption across the skin, is usually operated manually. However, manual operation is not only labour-intensive and time-consuming, but inevitably introduces human errors and inter-operator variability. The requirement to perform regular sampling around the clock also presents a significant logistical challenge for researchers. Commercial FDC automation solutions are costly and require proprietary/bespoke FDC designs. To overcome these challenges, we have developed Otto as a customisable and affordable, aftermarket FDC automation solution, to be retrofitted to existing FDCs of generic specifications. Otto uses a modified cartesian 3D-printer as a gantry and adds liquid-handling capabilities using 3D-printed components and common, inexpensive laboratory consumables. Liquid samples are collected into standard autosampler vials. Capable of handling 100 samples per run, Otto supports a high throughput and integrates well with downstream analytical equipment, without modifying the FDC or the analytical equipment. Its programming is facilitated by OttoMate, a companion software application with a graphical user interface designed to generate human-readable code for Otto. Here, we describe the design, construction, operation and characterisation of Otto. To our knowledge, this is the first open-source, retrofittable FDC autosampler with such throughput.
Author(s): Ng KW, Archbold L, Lau WM
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: HardwareX
Year: 2026
Volume: 25
Print publication date: 01/03/2026
Online publication date: 21/12/2025
Acceptance date: 19/12/2025
Date deposited: 07/01/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2468-0672
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00735
DOI: 10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00735
Data Access Statement: Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00735
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