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How intelligent mobile UVC sterilisation and modular automation platforms are redefining contamination control in modern laboratories
Dynamic Sterilisation for Dynamic Automation
Laboratory automation is evolving rapidly. Modern laboratories are increasingly adopting modular automation platforms, collaborative robotics, and distributed workflows designed to support changing scientific priorities, scalable throughput and flexible infrastructure. Yet, while automation architecture has advanced significantly, contamination control strategies have largely remained unchanged.
Traditional UV sterilisation systems were designed for static environments, fixed biosafety cabinets, enclosed workcells and single-instrument systems. However, modern laboratory automation is no longer static. Multi-instrument workcells, vertically integrated platforms and reconfigurable automation layouts create increasingly complex environments where fixed-position UV bulbs can struggle to deliver complete coverage.
As laboratory automation becomes more modular, multi-level and reconfigurable, contamination control must become dynamic rather than fixed.
A collaboration between PAA and Vortex Containment Technologies Ltd. demonstrates how intelligent mobile UVC sterilisation can be integrated directly into flexible automation ecosystems to support cleaner, safer and more autonomous laboratory workflows.
Moving Beyond Static UV Sterilisation
Conventional UV sterilisation systems rely on fixed-position UV emitters mounted within workcells or enclosures. While effective in simple
environments, static UV systems can leave shadowed regions behind robotic arms, instruments and stacked automation hardware where effective sterilisation is more difficult to achieve.
The challenge becomes even greater in modular automation environments where instruments, robotics and workflows are continuously evolving.
The PURUS mobile UVC sterilisation system from Vortex Containment Technologies introduces a fundamentally different approach. Rather than disinfecting from a single fixed location, the PURUS unit can be dynamically repositioned throughout the workcell by a collaborative laboratory robot, enabling targeted UVC exposure across the automation platform.
This mobile approach allows sterilisation to reach areas that static UV systems may miss, improving decontamination coverage throughout complex automated environments.
Traditional UV systems disinfect spaces. Mobile robotic UVC disinfects workflows.
PURUS Mobile UVC Sterilisation System – Key Features
- Automated UVC sterilisation – fully compatible with leading liquid handlers, robotic systems and modular automation platforms
- Mobile robotic deployment – dynamically repositioned throughout the workcell by collaborative laboratory robots
- Ultra-fast disinfection – effectively eliminates bacteria and viruses from the work deck in a single pass
- Enhanced shadow coverage – reaches complex, obstructed areas often missed by fixed-position UV systems
- Compact SBS-format design – occupies only a single SBS deck position, maximising valuable workspace
- Workflow-integrated sterilisation – enables automated decontamination between assay runs and workflow stages
- Rechargeable docking system – dedicated charging dock supporting up to 3 hours of continuous operation
- Eco-friendly UVC technology – mercury-free and free from harmful chemicals used in traditional UVC lamps
- Supports autonomous laboratory operation – reduces reliance on manual cleaning intervention
- Designed for flexible automation environments – ideal for multi-instrument, multi-level and reconfigurable laboratory systems
PURUS: Targeted UVC sterilisation that moves with the workflow
Intelligent Sterilisation within a Modular Automation Ecosystem
PAA specialises in advanced laboratory automation solutions integrating modular platforms, Smart Cart systems, robotics and intelligent orchestration software. By combining PAA’s modular automation infrastructure with collaborative robots and the PURUS mobile UVC platform, laboratories can integrate active sterilisation directly into automated workflows.
Instead of treating decontamination as a separate manual process, sterilisation becomes part of a coordinated automation ecosystem.
PAA’s scheduling software coordinates the workcell or Smart Cart system, robots, instruments, and sterilisation tasks into a unified platform capable of intelligently managing both workflow execution and contamination control.
This enables laboratories to:
- Schedule automated sterilisation cycles between runs
- Dynamically position UVC treatment exactly where needed
- Reduce manual cleaning intervention
- Improve workflow reproducibility
- Support shared multi-user automation systems
- Adapt sterilisation strategies as workflows evolve
The result is a more intelligent and resilient automation environment where contamination management evolves alongside laboratory workflows.
Flexible Automation for Evolving Laboratories
Modern laboratories increasingly require automation infrastructure that can adapt to changing scientific demands. Modular automation platforms allow workflows to be reconfigured, expanded and repurposed without rebuilding entire systems.
Mobile UVC sterilisation complements this philosophy by bringing contamination control directly into the automation workflow itself.
This approach is particularly valuable for:
- Cell and gene therapy workflows
- Cell-based assays
- NGS sample preparation
- High-throughput screening
- Shared robotic workcells
- Multi-instrument automation systems
As laboratories continue moving toward distributed automation architectures, intelligent robotic sterilisation will become increasingly important for maintaining reproducibility, reducing contamination risk and supporting scalable automation.
Automation, Sterilisation and Workflow Intelligence
The next generation of laboratory automation will not simply automate workflows, it will autonomously maintain, optimise and protect them.
By combining PAA’s modular automation infrastructure with Vortex Containment Technologies’ mobile UVC sterilisation platform, laboratories gain a flexible and scalable approach to automation where robotics, orchestration and contamination control operate together as a coordinated ecosystem.
The Bottom Line
In modern laboratories, automation is no longer fixed, and now, sterilisation doesn’t have to be either.
Written By: Dr Helen V. Bennett, Director of Scientific Strategy & Jon Newman-Smith, Research & Development Director
PAA
+44 (0) 1252 373000
Vortex Containment Technologies Ltd.
+44 (0) 2393 812 910