PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY OVERVIEW

Non-Destructive Antibody Purification

Columbia is introducing a proprietary antibody purification process that avoids the liabilities associated with protein A and G. The operating conditions associated with both these commonly usedpurification methods are destructive to antibodies, and that damage ripples through to the final product. In the case of diagnostic applications, damaged antibodies are a major contributor to elevated signal noise, inconsistent titers, false positives and negatives, and truncated shelf life. In the case of therapeutic applications, damaged antibodies may be pharmacokinetically aberrant, more prone to aggregation, and more likely to generate therapy-neutralizing antibodies. Non-affinity purification methods exist that avoid these problems, such as ion exchange, hydropxyapatite, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, but process development is complex and laborious. Columbia’s purification technology provides the simplicity of affinity but permits elution under gentle conditions to ensure the highest levels of antibody stability and performance. To date, we have successfully purified mouse IgM and IgG from all four subclasses without degradation. Future efforts will focus on purifying human antibodies. The ability to easily purify human IgG without compromising its structure offers the potential to develop a new generation of more effective therapies. In addition, the ability to purify human IgA, IgE, and IgM will be an important enabling technology that can be expected to bring whole new sectors of products to bear in solving critical diagnostic and clinical challenges. Additional applications may include other classes of therapeutic proteins and viral vaccines.

Highly Effective Fluorescent Markers

Microalgal fluorophores offer the most powerful illuminating signal available. Their fluorescent power comes from the total of the large number of chromophores and the most efficient light transduction of any natural or synthesized fluorophore. In addition to their powerful luminescence, their Stokes shift is 5-20 times greater than synthetic fluorophores. This unique feature eliminates background noise caused by overlap between the excitation light source and the fluorescence detectors. As a result, algal fluorophores make ideal markers for miniaturized immunoassays and point-of-care testing. In addition, they are water-soluble, chemically and optically stable. They have multi-year shelf lives, are available in six wavelength ranges, and can be conjugated to a wide variety of partners, including antibodies, streptavidin, biotin, and lectins.

Precision Immunoconjugates

Building on the foundation of our unique antibody purification technology and powerful flurophores, Columbia has developed proprietary technology to manufacture high precision antibody conjugates for the most demanding applications. We have developed methods that allow us to select the ratio of antibody to fluorophore that provides the best assay performance. These methods are also applicable to luminescent, enzyme, and cytotoxic conjugates. The practical and economic benefits of precision conjugates are substantial. Users will appreciate higher titer, lower noise, fewer false positives and negatives, longer shelf life, and better lot-to-lot reproducibility. All these benefits are compounded in miniaturized assay platforms such as the Luminex xMAP® system, flow cytometry and DNA and protein micorarrays. Whatever platform they are used in, Columbia’s precision conjugates will give users more productivity in the lab and more confidence in their results.