vitrotester

Vitrotester is a term used to describe automated platforms designed to perform in vitro biological assays. In this context, in vitro refers to experiments conducted with cells, tissues, or biomolecules outside a living organism. A vitrotester system typically combines hardware for sample handling and environmental control with software for experiment design, data acquisition, and analysis. Core components often include a robotic plate handler, an incubator or environmental chamber, liquid-handling modules, integrated imaging or readout devices, and interfaces to laboratory information management systems. Such platforms enable parallel execution of many assays, standardized workflows, and traceable data.

Applications encompass drug discovery and toxicology screening, cosmetic and chemical safety testing, environmental monitoring, and fundamental cell biology. They support high-throughput screening, time-lapse studies, and complex assays such as viability, reporter gene readouts, or organ-on-a-chip experiments.

Key design considerations include compatibility with standard plate formats (e.g., 96- and 384-well plates), sterility and contamination control, precise liquid handling, temperature and gas regulation, and regulatory compliance (such as GLP). Validation and calibration are essential for reproducibility and data integrity. While "vitrotester" can denote a class of devices from multiple vendors, there is no single universal standard by that name, and products vary in scope, automation level, and software ecosystems.

See also: high-throughput screening, automated laboratory robotics, in vitro assays, organ-on-a-chip, laboratory information management systems.