Handhabung von oberflächensensitiven Glasobjektträgern

Along with the USA, Germany has assumed a pioneering role in the development of technical innovations. This progress is currently causing rapid changes in the fields of biotechnology and medical engineering. Current research work focuses on providing technical assistance in the work that is carried out everyday on the medical sector. For example, glass slides with functionalized surfaces are essential to examinations that are carried out with microscopes. In order to be able to utilize these technical aids, it is absolutely necessary for these glass slides to be of a very high quality. After production, they must therefore be ultra-clean and remain intact to prevent any results of analyses carried out with them from being distorted. And this is where production currently quickly reaches its limits. Because manufacturing processes and handling tasks require that many manual work sequences be carried out. The person carrying out this work represents a decisive factor in the production of functionalized glass slides. The aim of this project was to develop an automated process for the handling of surface-sensitive glass slides. While meeting the demands that are made on purity and intactness, the process intended to make it possible for surfacesensitive glass slides to be transported between and during the individual stages of production. The priority in developing this transport system was to transfer all forces affecting the work piece without the need for mechanical contact, i.e. to do so absolutely contact-free. The developed transport-flow-pipe process meets these demands. In conjunction with flexible and contact-free procedures, this process will enable the production of surface-sensitive work pieces to be automated within their own protective atmosphere outside of clean rooms. The adaptable design will also make it possible to transport work pieces and components with different shapes and designs. These could be irregular or even unstable shapes