The University of Manchester has added an instrument by Carterra to its Biomolecular Analysis Core Facility (BACF) within the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH). The University has added Carterra’s LSA instrument to help assist with the development and characterisation of antibodies.
Created in 2005, the BACF facilitates the characterisation of biomolecules and their molecular interactions. The facilty uses a suite of biophysical instruments to support University research through access to its resident technologies, project-specific advice, sample analysis, instrument training, as well as data interpretation and reporting.
Currently, the Wellcome Trust is funding a project to generate nanobodies—antibodies with a single variable domain, also known as VHH antibodies. The aim of the project is to assemble an immunoassay toolbox for the study of matrix biology including the analysis of tissues from fibrotic diseases that will help underpin the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
Carterra’s LSA has high-throughput capabilities and is able to measure hundreds of binding events in parallel and provide high-resolution epitope binning. This removes bottlenecks in the nanobody production process allowing experiments that would previously take many days to be performed in just a few hours. Using the LSA, researchers at the University will be able to cast a wider net and screen more nanobodies per target.
Official comments
“We can’t wait to use the LSA for our development and characterization of nanobodies for which Carterra’s instrument is perfectly suited,” commented Dr. Tom Jowitt, the Manager of the BACF.
“Our job in the BACF is to provide our university’s scientists with the world’s best and most advanced technologies for molecular interaction analysis—we have certainly fulfilled our remit by adding Carterra’s LSA to our stable of technologies,” says Tony Day, a Professor of Biochemistry within FBMH and Academic Lead for the BACF.
“It’s incredibly gratifying to see how Carterra’s LSA has penetrated both industry and academia as the world’s new standard in antibody discovery,” says Tim Germann, Chief Commercial Officer at Carterra. “To join the University of Manchester in support of their world-class research is both an honour and a privilege for everyone at Carterra.”
