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Carterra Ultra™
Drug Discovery Platform
Disruptive technology for the characterization of small molecules and fragments
With enhanced sensitivity, expanded thermal options, and advanced microfluidics, the Carterra Ultra™ platform is our most sensitive instrument for interrogating multiple proteins and off-target binding in parallel.
Carterra Ultra Platform
The new Carterra Ultra is a revolutionary HT-SPR platform that includes enhanced optics, thermal controls, and microfluidics to provide the most advanced high-throughput screening and characterization platform on the market. For the first time, investigators can test fragments and small-molecules as well as large on- and off-targets arrays.
Workflows
Ultra enables the following automated workflows in a single unattended run:
- Ligand interactions with analytes as small as 100 Dalton
- Kinetics and affinity: Characterize up to 768 fragments/small molecules or 1152 mAbs
- Epitope binning: Interrogate up to 191×191 mAb/mAb pairwise interactions
- Quantitation: Measure concentration of up to 1152 mAbs
- Epitope mapping: Screen up to 96 mAbs against an array of up to 96 peptides
- Blocking / neutralization assays: 96-sample capacity
- General multiplexed applications: Array any combination of up to 192 ligands, mutants, target variants, controls, etc.
Available Ultra Biosensor Chip Chemistries
Carterra Ultra Sensor Chips
Selection of the appropriate sensor chip surface is essential for robust data quality when designing a high-throughput SPR assay. Carterra offers a broad range of chip surfaces to support the diverse applications available on the Ultra.
Expanding the Breadth of Applications
With a wide range of sensitivities, Carterra specializes in offering solutions to customers seeking to characterize their drug candidates.
- Extremely weak, square-shaped interactions
- Rapid, target class/-omic level characterization
- Ligandability, membrane protein, and kinase assays
- General multiplexed fragment/small molecule assays
- AI/ML-based approaches needing large amounts of binding data to
design and validate large language AI models
For those working with large molecules, Carterra offers:
- Samples with low concentrations, e.g., low expressing supernatants
- Samples with avid interactions, e.g., antibody analytes
- Access lower density surfaces to minimize binding heterogeneity
in biological systems
A CDK4/6 dual selective inhibitor shown binding at high affinity to both kinases. No binding is detected to the off-targets of CDK7 or CDK8.
Fragment hit identification against 96 proteins using the Carterra Ultra platform.
Unique Platform Technology
Ultra’s throughput, flexibility, and applications are enabled by three core system modules:
1. Patented flow cell technology 2. High throughput SPR 3. Software
The Carterra UltraTM is covered by one or more of the following U.S. Patents: 8,210,119; 8,211,382; 8,383,059; 8,488,120; 8,999,726; 9,682,372; 9,682,396; 10,300,450
1. Unique Patented Flow Cell Design & Sample Deck
Ultra has a unique flow cell design that provides both throughput and flexibility via two modes that switch automatically depending on the assay format:
Custom Ultra 96-Channel Printhead:
Cartridge consisting of a 96 array for:
- Continuous flow microspotting for discrete immobilization of up to 96 ligands in parallel with our proprietary FlexArray™
- Any combination of active and reference spots; up to 192 interactions in parallel
- ~200 μL per immobilization (recoverable)
Advanced Single Flow Cell:
Cartridge covers the entire chip surface for:
- One -on-many interactions with our proprietary Advanced SFC™
- Surface lawn preparations
- 180 μL per interaction
96-channel printhead
The 96-channel printhead enables a 96 protein array to be immobilized in parallel from flow onto a sensor chip surface in a single step. Up to 192 spots available in any combination of active spots and references.
The sample deck adds another layer of throughput and flexibility.
96- or 384-well plates can be used in the Ultra sample deck with 96-channel access in 3 bays and single flow cell access in 2 bays. The sample block has the capacity for 3 x 50ml conical tubes, 5 x 15ml conical tubes, and 8 x 1.5ml tubes.
Automated switching between the 96-channel printhead and single flow cell cartridges.
2. High Throughput Surface Plasmon Resonance
A high-resolution CCD camera images the entire chip surface simultaneously, enabling up to 192 real-time interactions to be monitored in parallel with local referencing.
3. Industry-leading Experimental Setup, Data Analysis, and Visualization Software
Navigator Software
Quickly and efficiently set up experiments using Navigator’s streamlined interface and purpose-built assay wizards. Fully automated experiments allow unparalleled throughput and real-time binding data richness. Queue up to six assays to maximize throughput for up to 7 days of unattended run time.
Key Benefits:
- Reduce hands-on time: Set up even the most complex assay in fewer than 5 minutes
- Adapt to any sample type: Predefined assay routines for purified or crude samples
- Simplify assay prep: Straightforward volume estimation for all assay buffers and reagents
- Multi-task and plan efficiently: Accurate experimental time estimation and in-run progress
- Walk-away convenience: Standby flow option keeps your surface ready to use between experiments
- Maximize data per experiment: Generate up to 150,000 interactions in a single, unattended run
Hands-on time is further reduced via automated data analysis, which enables rapid processing and initial curation of large experiments. Dedicated application-focused analysis software follows intuitive, simple-to-use workflows and powerful visualization tools.
Kinetics Analysis Software
Complete kinetic data processing and analysis can be automated, with referencing, zeroing, cropping, blank subtraction, and kinetic model fitting all executed as a single operation for up to 1152 samples per unattended run.
Learn More about our Kinetics Software
Epitope Analysis Software
In the binning tool, data are linked across panels to facilitate review of sensorgrams, heat maps, networks, and a dendrogram.
The ability to merge orthogonal data and view networks by color options provide a powerful and intuitive way of assessing your antibody panel’s diversity, while keeping an epitope-centric view.
The network plots above provide an alternate view of the data, where chords represent the blocking relationships, envelopes inscribe the bins, and colors depict merged data.
A binning dendrogram, showing an adjustable custom cut-height (red line at 4.1) next to a community plot that is clustered by the custom cut height, which provides a less granular view than the four network plots above where the cut height was zero.