Avacta’s Optim protein stability analysis technology is helping researchers at Manchester University to approach buffer selection in an entirely new way.

Dr Tom Jowitt, Manager of the University’s Biomolecular Analysis Core Facility, explained: “Academic institutions tend to work by word of mouth on protein projects, sticking to buffer conditions they are familiar with, or that have been used on previous projects within the laboratory. The buffers in use are often far from optimal for the protein of interest, but a lack of understanding of how to optimise buffer conditions means that these issues are rarely addressed.”

“As proteins become easier and easier to make in large quantities, we are trying to promote the concept of buffer screening, encouraging researchers to spend some time optimising buffer conditions at the start of each project, and this is where Avacta’s Optim instrument comes in. Due to the low sample volume required for each analysis, the Optim system makes it easy to screen a wide range of buffer conditions relatively quickly and cheaply. We can now screen 10 or 20 buffer conditions for a protein of interest in a short space of time, which simply wasn’t plausible before we had the instrument, as the time and labour involved in performing multiple measurements using different technologies for each set of buffer conditions would have been prohibitive. This simple optimisation process can have quite a significant impact on protein stability and aggregation rates, particularly for difficult to handle proteins such as those within extracellular matrix. Thanks to the Optim system, the benefits of buffer screening are being widely recognised throughout the Department and, with approximately 250 research groups, the potential knock-on benefits could be highly significant.”

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About Avacta Analytical

Avacta Analytical provides services and innovative instrumentation to the biopharmaceutical market. Our focus is to equip customers with a broad range of capabilities, enabling them to develop their therapeutics quicker, cheaper and better.

The groundbreaking Optim 2 instrument combines the powerful analytical capabilities of fluorescence and static light scattering technologies to provide valuable new insights.

Our services business specialises in supporting characterisation, formulation, comparability and stability studies of therapeutic proteins. We are able to draw upon a wide range of analytical capabilities and aim to give our customers a flexible value-added service.

Avacta Analytical is an ISO 9001 2008 registered company.

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