Peter Menstell,. Applications Engineer from the. Chromatography R&D group, explained: âWhen a new resin is under d
PROTEIN SCIENCE
Miniaturizing separation science The development and characterization of new chromatography media is both complex and time consuming. At Merck KGaA in Darmstadt, Germany, the implementation of automated miniature column chromatography protocols has helped to improve throughput and reduce the amount of material required, allowing more measurements to be performed in less time. Protein purification is a crucial step in
must be performed to characterize the
development, and within six months
the production of biopharmaceuticals,
different candidates, including the
had successfully developed and
and is frequently performed using
determination of selectivity, and static
validated our automated miniature
chromatographic processes. To help
and dynamic binding capacities. The
column chromatography method. We
biotech companies accelerate their
dynamic binding capacity is determined
can screen eight columns in parallel,
product development, manufacturers
under flow conditions, and was
completing dynamic binding capacity
are continually striving to develop new
previously carried out using standard 1,
determinations and resin selectivity
chromatography media, screening
5 or 10 ml lab-scale columns. However,
measurements in three to six hours,
prototype resins with novel functionalities
a large amount of feed material was
depending on the operating
and improved performance to extend
required for each column, and
parameters, compared to over 24 hours
their product portfolio.
evaluation of all the different
for sequential testing on a conventional
candidates was very time consuming.
system. We use 5- to 10-fold less feed
The Chromatography R&D and
We needed to reduce the feed amount
material, and the labor intensity is
Manufacturing Science and Technology
and perform more measurements in
reduced, freeing up more time for us
(MSAT) groups of Merck’s life science
less time, and this led us towards
to perform other valuable tasks.”
business are both engaged in the
miniature column chromatography.”
development of specialist
Senior Applications Engineer Andreas
chromatographic media – such as
André Kiesewetter, an MSAT
Stein added: “We received valuable
Fractogel®, Eshmuno® and ProSep® – for
Applications Engineer, takes up the
support from Tecan during the
the effective and efficient purification
story: “We decided to upgrade our
implementation period, and also
of biomolecules, as well as the creation
in-house robotic capabilities to include
benefitted from the availability of an
of supporting resin performance
state-of-the-art automated miniature
application note describing the optimum
application data. The groups actively
column chromatography using Atoll
performance settings for automated
support the company’s worldwide
RoboColumns®, a proven, user-friendly
miniature column chromatography.
customer base through a network of
technology that can be easily
Programming the workstation is easy
scientists and engineers, as well as
implemented on a liquid handling
to learn, and the integration between
10 M Lab™ collaboration centers
platform. We compared various
Freedom EVOware® and other programs,
located across the globe. The M Lab
workstations, eventually deciding that
such as visual basic scripts, is a huge
collaboration centers in Europe, Asia,
the close collaboration between Atoll
advantage; a system with an open
and the US are equipped with similar
and Tecan – and the popularity of the
program is much more flexible.”
liquid handling platforms configured
technology – made the combination of
for miniature column chromatography,
RoboColumns and the Freedom EVO®
“Automated high throughput
ensuring that customers receive the
workstation the ideal solution for both
experiments generate many samples for
same level of support regardless of
resin and application development
analysis, which could potentially create
location, as well as simplifying method
assays. We can also take advantage of
a bottleneck. Now that the miniature
transfer between sites for flexible
the system’s liquid handling capabilities
column chromatography application is
allocation of resources. Peter Menstell,
to perform dilutions and other sample
running really well, our aim is to go a
Applications Engineer from the
preparation steps in our workflows.”
step further and automate the analytics, establishing a fully integrated workflow
Chromatography R&D group, explained: “When a new resin is under
André continued: “We ran the first trials
to alleviate any possible hold-ups,”
development, a variety of experiments
after just a few weeks of protocol
concluded Andreas.
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TECAN JOURNAL 2/2016
PROTEIN SCIENCE
We use 5- to 10-fold less feed material, and the labor intensity is reduced, freeing up more time for us to perform other valuable tasks.
To find out more about Tecan’s protein science solutions, visit www.tecan.com/proteinscience To learn more about Merck’s life science business, go to www.merckmillipore.com
From left to right, Peter Menstell, André Kiesewetter and Andreas Stein
TECAN JOURNAL 2/2016
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