OMNISEC REVEAL ULTRA: Eliminate bottlenecks in biopharmaceutical characterization

Biopharmacy is a fast-paced and demanding industry, and sometimes trying to keep up with the demand can feel impossible. It is a world where precious samples cannot be wasted and one miss step in characterization could lead to the loss of more than just time and money.

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is critical in the characterization of biologics and biopolymers, its popularity is well deserved but unfortunately leads to bottlenecks in sample development. Sometimes there are just too many samples but not enough time, or traditional SEC does not give the resolution or information required to make the right decisions. Anyone who has regular experience with SEC knows it is a technique for the patient… while testing the patients of us all, sometimes taking hours to generate high quality data, but the results are well worth it.

To combat these bottlenecks, we have the OMNISEC REVEAL ULTRA system. This combines the high-quality data generated by a multidetector system with the improved resolution, sensitivity, and speed of a UPLC system. Together they make a formidable team to improve biopharmaceutical characterization. UPLC systems include lower volume SEC columns with higher porosity for faster, higher resolution chromatography, while the multidetector REVEAL ULTRA system allows accurate generation of high-quality data.

Higher Sensitivity

Lower sample concentrations and volumes are needed compared to during a typical HPLC system. Samples can be precious, either expensive or difficult to produce, therefore it is critical you do not waste any, so the increased sensitivity means fewer samples need to be run for accurate characterization.

Improved resolution

Narrower sharper peaks, with improved dispersity during the run, means better chromatography meaning populations are not hidden or lost in the analysis of a sample. Making sure you can see all the aggregates of a protein or low molecular weight oligomers in a polymer is no problem for the REVEAL ULTRA.

Speed

Smaller columns of a UPLC system with volumes at only 2.5 ml means less time to wait for your sample to run, which means more time for more samples. As well as the benefit of less solvent usage.

High quality accurate data generation

Once the samples have been separated, we need to ensure the analysis and data generated does not go to waste, faster and more sensitive chromatography does not mean we compromise on the quality of information detected. The multidetector REVEAL ULTRA enables the generation of high-quality data of multiple measurements. Multiple detectors in series within the REVEAL ULTRA module means multiple characterizations in one go from one injection of the sample, reducing the need for multiple aliquots of sample to complete characterization.

The first detector in the series is the highly sensitive refractive index detector as a concentration detector followed by the UV/Vis-PDA detector, these two concentration detectors together can allow highly valuable compositional analysis to take place, whether its rAAV vectors, PEGylated proteins or membrane bound proteins with detergents.

The following Static Light scattering (SLS) detectors allow the calculation of absolute molecular weight of the samples. With no relative values here we get the absolute molecular weight without needing to rely on any standard curves or retention volumes. Allowing accurate characterization with no misinterpretation of data generated.

Then the final detector is the viscometer, allowing the intrinsic viscosity of our samples to be measured, giving further information on the sample size as well as structural information when combined with the absolute molecular weight calculated.

All the detectors together produce a wealth of information to be calculated from just one sample injection, allowing accurate, sensitive, and fast biopharmaceutical characterization of your samples in one go.

Together the OMNISEC REVEAL ULTRA gives the benefits of fast, highly sensitive, and high-resolution chromatography of UPLC with the high quality data generated by multi-detection. Resulting in robust and reliable key data generation from complex samples, combating bottlenecks in development pathways of biopharmaceuticals.

Further reading