Biopharma and Pharma

Protein Analysis

Techniques like infrared (IR), Fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy can analyze the vibrations of protein molecules, providing information about their secondary structure, such as alpha helices, beta sheets, and turns. Spectroscopic techniques can monitor changes in protein structure upon binding to ligands or undergoing post-translational modifications, providing information on protein function and regulation. Aggregation of proteins is another CQA that can significantly affect the efficacy of therapeutics, techniques like Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Laser Diffraction, and NanoTracking Analysis (NTA) can shed light on the size distribution range and in the case of NTA, the absolute concentration (number of particles) between integral limits. This has utility in many up and coming technologies like exosomes, and has shown to be crucial to established techniques like liposomal vaccines.

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Browse Application Notes

The Detection of a Low Molecular Weight Enzyme Inhibitor using the OpenPlex system

The use of low molecular weight molecules in the industries of drug discovery and agri-food has become increasingly important over the course of a century of drug research and science development in agriculture and in pharmaceutical field.

This application highlights the development of an oligosaccharide chip (surface functionalization, density of immobilization, spacer arm length) on the same SPRi platform using conductive polymers. These results are highlighted through the example of interactions between HS and SDF-1 α chemokine.

HORIBA provides the pharmaceutical industry, biotech companies and academic research laboratories with high performance instrumentation based on SPRi technology (Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging). To demonstrate the power of this technology, we carried out an experiment based on an antibody-antigen interaction. Original surface chemistry combined with an electrochemical process allows the rapid coupling of biomolecules to the gold layer (polypyrrole co-polymerisation) on the top of a glass prism.

Raman Analysis of lysozyme

We have measured solutions of lysozyme under conditions known to effect its physical state in order to investigate the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a non-invasive and label-free tool to assess protein formulation stability. Results from this study identified specific Raman signature bands in this protein that can be used to identify individual amino acid residues that are reflect structural changes in proteins.

Protein aggregation is an important concern when developing and manufacturing biotherapeutics since these subvisible aggregate particles have been associated with the adverse drug reactions. Protein aggregates may provoke adverse events through an unwanted immune response. And, regardless of mechanism of reaction, subvisible particle contamination has been a concern for manufacturers and regulators.

Size matters in vaccine delivery systems. Nanoparticles smaller than 200 nm generally present a greater immunogenic response than micro-particles larger than 1 micron. This rather simple statement is based on the common understanding that particles with sizes resembling the dimensions of viruses are treated like viruses by the body.

The study of protein aggregation encompasses a broad range of interactions and mechanisms. Many studies into this subject area investigate the aggregation of misfolded proteins, which is thought to be responsible for many degenerative diseases. Since aggregation typically leads to a physical change in protein size, particle size analysis has proven to be a useful experimental technique in this field.

Sub-visible Particles from ViewSizer 3000

The ViewSizer 3000 enables scientists to visualize and quantify the kinetics of protein aggregation in real-time for biologic therapeutics under a variety of stress conditions including agitation, temperature and the addition of contaminants. The case study featured here validates these capabilities for agitation and temperature stress conditions with the 100 mg/mL mAb A.

Protein scientists typically discuss “protein size” or molecular weight, as opposed to using the phrase “particle size”, but particle size analyzers are often used in their studies. There is also interest in the surface charge or valence of proteins, so zeta potential is another measurement used by protein chemists.

Zeta potential is a key physical parameter that describes surface charge on proteins. Although there has been interest in measuring the zeta potential of proteins for many years, the measurements were often difficult due to a variety of reasons including the “cooking” of proteins on the cell electrodes when using light scattering techniques.

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HORIBA Solutions

PoliSpectra® RPR for HTS

PoliSpectra® RPR for HTS

Rapid Raman Plate Reader – Multiwell Fast Raman screening

XploRA™ PLUS

MicroRaman Spectrometer - Confocal Raman Microscope

Aqualog - A-TEEM Industrial QC/QA Analyzer

Aqualog - A-TEEM Industrial QC/QA Analyzer

A Simple, Fast, “Column Free” Molecular Fingerprinting Technology

ViewSizer 3000

Simultaneous Multi-Laser Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA)

Duetta

Fluorescence and Absorbance Spectrometer

MacroRAM™

Affordable Benchtop Raman Spectrometer

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Watch Webinars and Videos

The A-TEEM Compliance Package is now available from HORIBA and enables A-TEEM to be used in a GMP environment. Discussion points will be around both the pharmaceutical applications of A-TEEM and the details of the compliance package for GMP labs.

Join Dr. Kevin Dahl of Particlese LLC and Dr. Linda Kidder of HORIBA Scientific provide tips and alternative solutions for better vaccine development and quality. They will discuss the application of multi-laser nanoparticle analysis (NTA) in determining vaccine degradation and total particle count. They will also present a new analytical approach, fluorescence A-TEEM method for rapid screening of similar but different vaccine final formulations.

Quantitative imaging techniques, such as FRET-FLIM, FCS and FCCS, and RICS are powerful tools to monitor the dynamics and interactions of proteins in live cells.

The need for fluorescent bioprobes has exploded in the last decades in the Life Sciences and Medical domains for applications such as bioimaging, lab-on-chip diagnostics, drug development or cell sorting.

The large variety of fluorescent probes, such as organic dyes, biological biotags and fluorescent nanostructures, are intensively studied due to their inherent suitability for a wide range of life science applications. Thanks to the complementary nature of its analytical solutions, HORIBA's unique offer covers fluorescence, particle analysis, AFM, Raman and XRF characterization techniques, helping to gain valuable insight into optical properties, size, morphology and composition of your bioprobes.

New camera, new imaging, new FLIM

Fast auto sampling. Auto fast sampling. Auto sampling, fast

A-TEEM™ stands for simultaneous Absorbance, Transmission, and Fluorescence Excitation-Emission-Matrix (EEMs) Acquisition.

Byron Purse on his work modifying Fluorescence of DNA & RNA

The simple and ideal excitation sources for TCSPC

EzSpec Software for Duetta and its winning user experience

Money down on this Head 2 Head EEM acquisition comparison

A-TEEM acquires chemical ID with fluorescence spectroscopy

Automatically discover Fluorescence profiles in about 60 seconds

EzSpec and its apps, making research too EZ

One of those things that make EzSpec so good

Automatically discover Fluorescence profiles in about 60 seconds

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