GE launches compact automated purification system
“The purification step is crucial in biomanufacturing, as regulated products in particular are required to reach a defined level of purity,” GE Healthcare Life Sciences spokesperson Nina Forsberg told Biopharma-Reporter.com.
However, she continued, “manual approaches are time-consuming and repetitive. One needs to stand over and operate the column, meaning valuable time is spent doing routine work. Manual collection of fractions and subsequent UV analysis also add to the hands-on time required to run a column.”
Furthermore, “manual handling means an increased risk of manual error,” she added and thus GE’s new Äkta start protein purification system offers a number of advantages, specifically for researchers and laboratories looking to make the move into automated purification.
There is currently an automated purification product - Äkta avant - that GE makes to support manufacturers and large-scale production, but the Äkta start is targeted in the first instance at scientists in research, Forsberg added, with a size and price to reflect this.
Whilst there are similar products available, Forsberg told us GE has “been at the cutting edge of chromatography systems since the first ÄKTA system was launched in 1996.
“The ÄKTA start system is built to the same exacting standards as the other ÄKTA systems, but is designed for simplicity of use and as an easy introduction to automated chromatography.”
Furthermore she told us “the system comes with inbuilt templates for common chromatography techniques such as affinity, gel filtration and ion-exchange, but also allows users to customise protocols to meet their needs.”
