AutoMate Express Nucleic Acid Extraction System

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Adapting a rapid, accurate testing method for detecting contaminants and impurities is a key step in enabling in-process testing, whether these impurities originate from biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes or from the host cell line. The results from those tests can then be used as part of downstream process characterization to make fact-based, go/no-go forward processing decisions.

The AutoMate Express Nucleic Acid Extraction System is an easy-to-use benchtop instrument that enables hands-free automation of the nucleic acid extraction process for contaminant and impurity testing. The instrument uses the established PrepSEQ nucleic acid extraction chemistry for quantitative recovery of DNA and RNA from diverse sample types, including cell culture, raw material (i.e., serum), and in-process downstream purification samples such as column purification or bulk drug substance (BDS) samples.

Simultaneous extraction of mycoplasma, MMV, and vesivirus nucleic acids from a single sample

Explore this app note to discover a simplified workflow for simultaneous nucleic acid extraction of mycoplasma, MMV, and vesivirus. This approach, using AutoMate Express with PrepSEQ Express, improves speed, accuracy, and contamination monitoring in bioproduction.

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Key system features

Time-saving, cost-effective DNA extraction for mycoplasma, MMV, vesivirus, and residual DNA quantitation
Quantitative and reproducible recovery of DNA from complex samples
Out-of-the-box automation with prefilled PrepSEQ Express cartridges and ready-to-run protocols
Closed system minimizes the risk of contamination
Ideal for in-process testing of contaminant and impurities

Three-in-one extraction of cell culture contaminants

The AutoMate Express platform can be used to perform nucleic acid extraction of the common contaminants for mammalian cell culture manufacturing, i.e., mycoplasmas, MMV, and vesiviruses. Flexible protocols are available to isolate DNA and RNA from a single organism, or a 3-in-1 surveillance panel protocol can simultaneously extract mycoplasma, MMV, and vesivirus nucleic acid from a single sample. Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate recovery of DNA from spikes of DNA or of cells/viruses of mycoplasmas and MMV into typical cell culture matrices, extracted using the AutoMate Express system.

Figure 1. DNA recovery from spikes of DNA into various media. Detection of (A) mycoplasma DNA and (B) MMV DNA spiked into PBS (blue), fetal calf serum (black), CHO medium (gray), and conditioned CHO medium (brown). For each matrix, a recovery control (RC) was used to assess extraction efficiency.

Figure 2. DNA recovery from cell culture matrices. Detection of DNA from (A) M. arginini and (B) MMV spiked into PBS (blue), fetal calf serum (black), CHO medium (gray), and CHO conditioned medium (brown). For each plate, control reactions were run with 500, 1,000, and 2,000 copies of the mycoplasma discriminatory positive control or MMV positive control in the real-time PCR assay.

Closed system with walk-away automation

The AutoMate Express platform automatically performs the steps for efficient nucleic acid extraction from contaminants and impurities in a closed system. The system uses PrepSEQ Express kits that contain sealed cartridges with extraction reagents, plastics including tips, and sample, lysis, and elution tubes. The workflow (Figure 3) has been designed for a completely hands-free operation enabling reproducible extraction efficiencies and reduced time-to-results. The small footprint of the instrument enables easy integration into an existing lab setup. Up to 13 samples can be processed in under an hour, and the eluates from the extraction can be used directly in real-time PCR-Seq analytics assays.

Figure 3. One-hour workflow for the AutoMate Express system.

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