Agilent Acquires Polymer Standards Service (PSS)
Agilent Technologies (California, USA) has announced the acquisition of Polymer Standards Service GmbH (PSS) (Mainz, Germany). Known for their polymer characterization solutions, PSS provides complete solutions for gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), which are used in applications to determine the molecular weight and size distribution of macromolecules.
The acquisition represents an extension of Agilent’s product portfolio in the chemical and biopharmaceutical industries, particularly in the analysis of natural and synthetic polymers such as nucleic acids, proteins, monoclonal antibodies, polysaccharides, and synthetic plastic.
“We’re extremely pleased to have the PSS team join Agilent to help us expand our leadership in liquid chromatography and the GPC/SEC market,” said Jacob Thaysen, President, Agilent Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group. “The advanced PSS hardware, software, columns, and reference materials we’re adding to our portfolio will enhance our offerings and ensure we deliver the broad spectrum of LC equipment, GPC/SEC analytics, and software our customers value.”
Agilent expects to be able to use its global presence to expand the use of PSS products and expertise more widely. Agilent customers in the chemical, biopharmaceutical, and other key segments will now also be able to take advantage of PSS technology more broadly because of Agilent’s strong global presence in those markets.
“This is a very strategic move for PSS and Agilent,” said Thorsten Hofe, Managing Director at PSS. “Together we can provide our customers with a full range of GPC and LC products and extend the reach of PSS products into new, fast-growing markets. It’s an exciting time for the PSS team.”
For more information, please visit: www.agilent.com and www.pss-polymer.com
AI and GenAI Applications to Help Optimize Purification and Yield of Antibodies From Plasma
October 31st 2024Deriving antibodies from plasma products involves several steps, typically starting from the collection of plasma and ending with the purification of the desired antibodies. These are: plasma collection; plasma pooling; fractionation; antibody purification; concentration and formulation; quality control; and packaging and storage. This process results in a purified antibody product that can be used for therapeutic purposes, diagnostic tests, or research. Each step is critical to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the final product. Applications of AI/GenAI in many of these steps can significantly help in the optimization of purification and yield of the desired antibodies. Some specific use-cases are: selecting and optimizing plasma units for optimized plasma pooling; GenAI solution for enterprise search on internal knowledge portal; analysing and optimizing production batch profitability, inventory, yields; monitoring production batch key performance indicators for outlier identification; monitoring production equipment to predict maintenance events; and reducing quality control laboratory testing turnaround time.
