Combinatorial searches of inorganic materials using the ink-jet printer: science, philosophy and technology

The juxtaposition of direct ceramic ink-jet printing with high throughput screening, data-mining and interpretation methods using artificial neural networks is bringing to the ceramics community a capability for combinatorial analysis presently enjoyed mainly by the pharmaceutical industry. This paper attempts to set out the potential and scope for high speed, high resolution sample preparation, high throughput screening and informatics-driven local optimisation methods. It describes the distinct philosophical basis for this approach to discovery and identifies it as primarily Baconian. It examines in detail the aspirating-dispensing systems being used for ceramic sample preparation from powder suspensions, explores their likely strengths and limitations and how these may be mitigated through the application of sophisticated computational methods.