在植物育種計劃中，需對葉片和種子組織的 DNA 進行微生物學偵測，以確定其特性，如抗病性或維生素含量。分析必須快速精確。結果的準確性和可重複性極為重要。為此，實驗室需連續執行數次完全相同的測試，也必須能夠確認哪些分析已經完成。另一個核心標準是樣品的可追溯性：為了避免混淆，必須始終知道偵測的樣品是哪一個。
For the cleaning process, the DNA samples are stored in so-called deep-well plates, which are specially designed for the storage of laboratory samples. Eight permanent magnets are mounted underneath the plates. The extraction robot introduces the extraction chemistry into the plates using a 96-fold pipetting head – a machining jig with individual pipettes that simultaneously release liquid. The magnetic blocks bind the magnetic particles in the liquid at the base of the deep-well plates. They can therefore be easily separated from the DNA. It is then cleaned with water and is available for further testing.
During the extraction process, the robot must work very precisely. It must position the pipetting head reliably in order to fill the liquid exactly into the plates. Festo controllers, motors, and electric axes ensure that the pipetting head can work quickly and accurately to the millimeter. Laboratory-automation solutions like these will increasingly be used in laboratories in future to keep plant breeding competitive.