Miniaturizing separation science - Tecan

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Peter Menstell,. Applications Engineer from the. Chromatography R&D group, explained: “When 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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