# Automated Compound Storage and Retrieval System

> **NIH NIH S10** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $741,378

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Vanderbilt University is requesting funds for the purchase of a Hamilton Verso M2 to replace our obsolete Brooks
Universal Store (Unistore). The current system was purchased in 2008 through funding from the NIH's Molecular
Library Screening Center Network (MLSCN) and has since provided compound management services to
Vanderbilt investigators performing chemical biology research. The Unistore is a cornerstone of the Vanderbilt
High-throughput Screening (VHTS) Core providing a long-term storage environment, rapid retrieval, and tracking
mechanism for each compound sample, whether in a tube or multi-well plate. This has enabled our institution to
operate on par with biotech and pharmaceutical companies in terms of quality and effectiveness. The VHTS
Unistore holds approximately 200,000 0.7mL tubes, 2,500 4-mL vials, and 7,000 384-well plates - totaling over
2.5 million samples. These samples are categorized as large, chemically diverse screening collections, libraries
of known biologically active compounds, and project-specific compounds. The former two represent the majority
of the samples and are available to any Vanderbilt researcher as a fee-for-service distribution. This service
dovetails to the HTS screening services that span early discovery (e.g. tool compound discovery) and
translational (e.g. discovery of new clinically-relevant activity of known drugs) projects. The third category
(project-specific compounds) are compounds associated with specific, investigator-driven hits-to-leads and lead
optimization preclinical drug discovery projects. Currently, samples from 111 such projects are managed through
our system. Over the past five years, an average of 20,170 individual samples and 1,064 compound plate
replications per year were distributed to investigators. The ability to quickly, efficiently and effectively support the
demands of the Vanderbilt research community critically depends on our automated, environmentally controlled
compound storage and retrieval system with integrated laboratory information management (LIMS) system.
Although the Unistore has been an outstanding piece of equipment, it is well past its life expectancy and requires
extensive on-site vendor support. The availability of vendor support is increasingly limited as Brooks introduces
newer models. Replacement of the system is crucial to ongoing NIH-funded, as well as emerging, research
programs aimed at advancing basic and early translational research. We are requesting funds for a new
automated compound storage and retrieval system that will serve Vanderbilt through the next decade. Mission
critical features that the Verso will provide include 1) 2-D barcode level tracking of tube samples, 2) 1-D barcode
level tracking of plate samples, 3) environmental control with a dry air source and -20 °C redundant compressor
temperature control, 4) high-speed tube picking, 5) storage capacity library growth, and 6) an application program
interface (API) a...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10415712
- **Project number:** 1S10OD028715-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Joshua A. Bauer
- **Activity code:** S10 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $741,378
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-15 → 2024-04-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10415712

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10415712, Automated Compound Storage and Retrieval System (1S10OD028715-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10415712. Licensed CC0.

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