Greetings, Carterra Users! We hope that everyone is having a wonderful year. The Support Team at Carterra is very excited to keep you updated on all of the advancements in high-throughput SPR and updates to our platform. Please see our fall update below.
Introducing Carterra Ultra™—Ultra ushers in a new frontier in fragment and small molecule drug discovery and is the most sensitive biosensor from Carterra yet.
This revolutionary HT-SPR platform, with new workflows and applications, will enable drug discovery to move faster than ever before.
“We’re excited about this revolutionary new SPR platform….”
— Philip Schwartz, PhD, Drug Discovery Industry Leader
The regenerable streptavidin kit is used to capture biotinylated samples, regenerate the surface, and capture another set of biotinylated samples.
The RSA chip will show a higher degree of capture and a more consistent level of capture by raising the oligo-streptavidin concentration to 400 nM and supplementing with 6 mM MgCl2. More optimization is underway and we will provide further guidance in the near future.
Consumables
We have determined that the SAP chips are undergoing more degradation over time than acceptable. As a result, we have placed this chip type (P/N 4295) on hold and are shipping the SAHC30M (P/N 4294) as an alternative. Similar capture levels can be achieved on an SAHC30M chip via mixing the biotinylated protein with biotinylated BSA. For example, customers that have been using the capture select reagent would be able to achieve similar VHH densities on an SAHC30M as an SAP with 20 ug/mL of the capture select reagent mixed with 300 ug/mL Biotinylated BSA from Pierce. Changing the BSA concentration will modulate the density of the ligand of interest. This strategy can be employed when using any streptavidin or neutravidin capture lawn.
Our recommended consumables list is attached here. However, if you are experiencing shipping delays or stock shortages on certain plate types, the following (2) 96-well plate part numbers have been spec’d and are approved for use on the LSA and LSAXT.
- Falcon 353263 (340 uL)
- Nunc 260251 (1300 uL)
Kinetics and Epitope
We have received some reports from customers that the Kinetics and Epitope software is not displaying any charts or data. The root cause of this issue has been traced to an Intel® graphics driver update that our software is not compatible with. The problematic graphics driver is Intel 31.0.101.5590. Please ensure that the Intel graphics driver installed is the compatible version of 31.0.101.5522 and downgrade to this version, if necessary. Alternatively, you may be able to utilize a dedicated graphics card instead of the Intel graphics driver.
Navigator
If you receive an experiment error entitled “Experiment preparation failure. No SPR data received in 10.0 seconds,” please power cycle the instrument and PC. This is related to a Windows® update that forces the camera to lose connection with the instrument. Instructions on how to power cycle the LSA and PC are attached here. See Powercycle PDF. If your issue persists after rebooting, please contact Support.
In both Navigator 1.74 and Navigator 2.1, there is a known issue that occurs if you copy and edit a previously run capture kinetics method. If the user changes plate locations or printing order, the run will terminate prematurely with an error: “Object reference not set to an instance of object.” To avoid this error, please make sure to write a new method from scratch when executing different capture kinetics experiments.
Navigator 2.1 will always automatically reference subtract the live charted data on the experiment runner page. You can un-apply this at any time during your run via deselecting the reference subtraction live processing feature on the experiment runner page.
Navigator 1.7.4 exhibits an issue when modifying the regeneration count and time in the capture kinetics method. The applications will perform (2) 30-second pulses of regeneration regardless of the user specified value. This is resolved for current LSAXT users via Navigator 2.1.
New software versions have been released! Please update your software by logging into the Carterra web store and downloading the software. Release notes are also available highlighting new features and bug fixes.
Kinetics: https://carterra-bio.com/resources/kinetics-software/
Epitope: https://carterra-bio.com/resources/epitope-software/
If your team is looking to purchase an additional PC or laptop for data analysis, please see below for our recommended computer specifications.
Analysis software licenses: As a reminder each Kinetics and Epitope Software license comes with (3) activation/deactivation cycles before the user needs to contact support@carterra-bio.com to issue a refreshed license at no cost. Deactivating a license can be done from the program section of either application. The same license(s) can then be used again on a different PC once the applications are installed.
Printhead maintenance is essential for reliable instrument function, optimal data quality, and extended SPR sensor life. As soon as the multichannel fluidics have been used to deposit protein to the chip surface, please prime the fluidics into DI H2O + 0.05% T-20 as soon as possible. Keeping the Printhead face and the fluidic lines free of salt precipitation is one of the most important aspects of LSA maintenance.
It has been brought to our Support Department’s attention that an updated recommendation to the chip preconditioning is required to maintain maximum activity of derivatized chips and ensure maximum preconcentration. This updated recommendation can apply universally to our chip offerings. A QuickStart method can be used to expose the chip to only 1 min of a 25 mM NaOH solution to clean and hydrate the surface, excluding the typical salt. This protocol is in the process of being optimized as we continue to discover the best recommendation. Our customer base will be updated as new information is collected.
Have inquiries or requests related to Preventive Maintenance or Instrument Move services? Please email service@carterra-bio.com.
New App Note
If you are a new European LSA or LSAXT user or a customer in Europe, you can reach out to the Support team at support_eu@carterra-bio.com to ensure that you receive prompt responses despite the time difference.
If you are a new user of the LSA or LSAXT, you can reach out to the Support team at support@carterra-bio.com and introduce yourself. We would love to hear from you and begin building a relationship to facilitate the learning process.