Project

Addressing the need for increased analytical capacity for biopharmaceuticals and forensic toxicology through automated sample preparation.

Acronym
AutoMAb
Code
F2023/IOF-Equip/094
Duration
20 December 2023 → 19 December 2025
Funding
Regional and community funding: Industrial Research Fund
Research disciplines
  • Medical and health sciences
    • Biopharmaceuticals
Keywords
liquid chromatography mass spectrometry forensic toxicology Automated sample preparation biologics biologicals pharmaceutical industry
 
Project description

Flanders, known as Pharma Valley, ranks first globally in the number of drugs in clinical developmen t per capita. Especially biotechnological drug development is gaining a lot of importance herein . Consequentially, t he demand for advanced analytical workflows to characterize the production of biological drugs and assess pharmacokinetics has significantly increased. Current analytical methods involve costly instrumentation and expertise, encouraging the use of service based workflows. With our new MS core facility, launched in early 2023, we aim to serve the pharmaceutical sector and improve sample through put by automating sample preparation and reducing runtime using high flow LC. In collaboration with a biotherapeutics company focused on nanobodies, new methodologies will be developed to track the pharmacokinetics of biological substances in animals, enha ncing biotherapeutic research. As a second application, the Laboratory of Toxicology will utilize the expanded version of the Andrew+ to automate the analysis of the alcohol withdrawal marker Phosphatidylethanol (PEth).