Dispersers and Shakers for Drug Discovery and Development

Aurigene works in partnership with IKA^® to expand its drug discovery and development portfolio.

The Customer

Specialists in Drug Discovery and Development

Aurigene is a specialized inflammatory disease and oncology-focused drug discovery biotech, with expertise in deep target and therapeutic areas.

Based in Hyderabad and Bangalore in India and also in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aurigene has an entirely integrated drug discovery infrastructure, from hit generation to preclinical development.

Aurigene‘s focus target areas comprise of oncology and inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. The company works with reputable pharma companies through licensing and co-development, early-stage partnerships, and specialized services in the areas of ADME assays, nonGMP scale-up, peptide, crystallography, and small molecule synthesis.

The Challenge

To Disrupt Hard Cell Walled Tissues

Biotechnology can be loosely defined as a method that utilizes live organisms such as plant cells, animal cells, yeast, fungi, viruses, and bacteria to create or change a product, to make a specific plant or animal traits more pronounced, or to engineer microorganisms for particular applications.

In this technique, the gene must be isolated to study its regulation and function. It must then be modified and reintroduced into its natural host utilizing another vector system and/or organism.

This method assists in the decoding of secrets related to disease resistance, the regulation of development and growth, or the communication pathways used by cells and different microorganisms.

The key limitation when homogenizing tissues is that the majority of organisms, for example, seeds and other samples that are heavily encased, are not efficiently disrupted through the introduction of enzymes or chemically.

In these events, cell and tissue disruption is very hard to achieve. Additionally, the energy required when employing these ‘harsh methods’ is normally high and can damage the desired proteins. Moreover, the use of excessive force should be limited due to the generation of shear and/or detrimental heat that can harm the desired proteins samples.

IKA^® products are compact with ergonomic designs and are known for reliable performance. IKA^® India provides good customer support. Homogenizers with disposable dispersion elements offer great advantage to eliminate cross-contamination.

Dr. Shekar S. Chelur, The Associate Research Director, Aurigene

The Advantages at a Glance

T 10 Basic

• Most suited for manual operation
• Ergonomic with lightweight form with the operation of a direct main
• 125 W drive enables speed stability with a range of media
• Efficient release coupling makes the cleaning and changing of the disperser element easier
• Stainless steel elements with PTFE bearings are suited to all methods of sterilization

VORTEX 3

• Wide range of speed.
• Special adjustments can be made for Erlenmeyer flasks or conical flasks, microcentrifuge tubes, and microtiter plates
• Suited to constant operation with low heat up because of the self-ventilation of the motor

The Solution

To Produce a Uniform Homogenate in Comparatively Less Time.

When the samples are so resilient, physical and mechanical methods that rely on shocking, beating, shearing, and grinding are utilized. The most effective technique to create a homogeneous mass continues to be mechanical-rotor/stator technology.

Skin, intestine, lung, and heart muscle are just some examples of tissues that are hard to break down. The IKA^® T 10 basic homogenizer has a rotor-stator design with an outer stationary tube (stator) and an inner turning shaft (rotor) which is attached to a motor.

Slots on both the shaft and tube are situated at the bottom of the rotor-stator. When operating at 8000 to 30000 rpm, the samples pressed into the slots of the rotor-stator are quickly sheared. The IKA^® T 10 basic is utilized to macerate plant and animal tissues of increasing mass.

The shearing movement of the homogenizers creates a highly uniform homogenate in comparatively little time. The sample sizes processed with a handheld T 10 basic homogenizer vary from 0.5 ml up to 100 ml.

IKA^® provides a range of homogenizers for one to choose from. Units are available that can create delicate nicking of the cell to release intact organelles along with a more powerful disruption to release membrane-bound proteins.

Fragile mammalian cells are disrupted by moderately shaking (500 to 2500 rpm) the suspended cells utilizing the IKA^® VORTEX 3 shakers. The VG 3 is a basic device that can be employed to combine small vials of liquid or to disperse solids into solution.

This unit comprises of an electric motor and a drive shaft that is oriented vertically and fixed to an inverted rubber base or cap located slightly off-center. As the motor operates, the rubber base oscillates quickly at 2500 rpm in an orbital motion, which generates a vortex.

When a test tube or an appropriate alternative container is pressed into the rubber base (or placed near its edge) the motion is transferred to the liquid inside and a vortex is generated. The VG 3 has adjustable speed settings and can be configured to run constantly or to run only in the application of downward pressure to the rubber base.

It is a dynamic product that can be utilized with three interchangeable attachments and seven inserts for microtiter plates, microcentrifuge tubes and 250 ml Erlenmeyer flasks. Even when fully taxed and operating at full speed during any given procedure, IKA^® VG 3 units never shut down.

Customer Benefits

Fully Flexible Homogenizers with Quiet Operation and a Small Footprint.

For the last 10 years, Aurigene has been utilizing the IKA^® T 10 basic homogenizers and VORTEX 3 shakers. They have over 20 of these units placed in the laboratory setting. IKA^® homogenizers have helped to increase the homogeneity and efficiency of the dispersion process.

Additionally, these units have enhanced productivity by saving time through reducing the number of cycles that samples need to pass to fulfill the desired homogeneous phase.

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by IKA.

For more information on this source, please visit IKA.