Abstracts of papers presented at the ISLAR (International Symposium on Laboratory Automation and Robotics) 2001.

The 19th International Symposium on Laboratory Automation and Robotics provided presentations on state-of-the-art developments in laboratory automation and robotics. The symposium programme included papers and posters on all aspects of the technology. These comprised: managing laboratory automation (drug discovery); bioanalytical analysis; managing laboratory automation in drug discovery development and QC laboratory; functional genomics strategies and high throughput screening; advanced integration strategies; method development and global methods transfer; compound handling and logistics; combinatorial chemistry and automated synthesis; high throughput LC-MS-MS; increasing efficiency in dissolution testing; lead optimization; strategies for UHTS; increasing throughput for ADME toxicology; data management/data handling and bioinformatics; using contract laboratories to increase productivity; assay miniaturization; process optimization; compliance and automation-the regulatory perspective; novel high throughput screening technologies; compliance and automation-the industry perspective. Several discussion sessions were included and activated, and provided interactive communication on a wider range of subjects. Although the programme was very comprehensive, the Symposium was designed to provide time for both formal and informal exchange of information. The technical presentations were organized into concurrent sessions with grouped papers on related topics. Abstracts for each paper and each poster are included here. Full presentations of several of these papers will appear in later editions of this journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]