Endotoxin assays have historically been enzymatic, time-consuming, and rarely automated. A recent addition to the panel of commercially available assays offers promise for rapid detection [31]. The PyroGene™ assay utilizes a recombinant protease zymogen, Factor C that is activated upon endotoxin binding. The activated enzyme then cleaves a fluorogenic substrate, which

emits light at 440 nm when excited at 380 nm. As opposed to kinetic assays based on Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), the PyroGene™ assay is an endpoint assay. For protein quantitation, bicinchoninic acid (BCA) and Coomassie PLX3397 chemical structure Blue assays for protein concentration can be readily performed in a microplate format [32] and [33]. In the BCA assay, proteins reduce Cu+2 to Cu+1 in alkaline conditions. A proprietary BCA-containing reagent then reacts with the cuprous ion to form a purple colour, absorbing at 562 nm [33]. The extent of reaction depends on the macromolecular structure, number of peptide

bonds, and the amount of C, Y, and W residues in the protein [34]. The Bradford assay employs an acidic solution of Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 that absorbs at 595 nm when incubated with proteins containing basic and aromatic residues [35], [36] and [37]. In this study, the Lowry assay was not tested due to its relative complexity, the multitude of substances (e.g. detergents) that interfere, and poor reagent stability [38]. Several high throughput methods exist for measuring DNA concentration. Simple methods this website based on either absorbance at 260 nm or the ratio of absorbance at 260 nm and 280 nm are excellent for relatively pure samples. Where a complex absorbance

background precludes the use of absorbance measurements for DNA quantitation, fluorescent assays with Picogreen have proven exceptionally Thalidomide useful [39]. Central to the intelligent deployment of assays is an understanding of interference. The process streams created by unit operations occurring immediately downstream of a bacterial fermentor may have impurities with concentrations 10–100 fold higher than that of the product. Challenges also exist downstream of the first major purification unit operation where impurity loadings can still exceed the product concentration. Although the levels of interference ease further downstream, the potential presence of high concentrations of added excipients can impair assays. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the proposed assays for interference is critical to the success of high throughput process development. This study describes the development of rapid and simple assays to enable the evolution of HTPD for the generation of novel purification processes. More specifically, we describe a set of analytical methods that will yield information on polysaccharide titre and impurity amount (i.e. endotoxin, nucleic acids, protein).