Chromatographs

Tender description

Public Health England (PHE) is planning to award a contract to GE Healthcare for a provision of protein purification systems, to replace an ageing AKTA FPLC and AKTA Purifier to allow the team to produce complement, bacterial/viral antigens, toxins, monoclonal antibodies and other prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins of a required specification, for production of immunotherapeutic and vaccines for use in clinical trials. Public Health England (PHE) is planning to award a contract to GE Healthcare for a provision of protein purification systems to replace an aged AKTA FPLC and AKTA purifier to allow the team to produce complement, bacterial/viral antigens, toxins, monoclonal antibodies and other prokaryotic and eukaryotic proteins of a required specification, for production of immunotherapeutic and vaccines for use in clinical trials. Current requirement is for 2 instruments, however PHE expects additional requirements for same instruments in near future. The justifications behind purchasing the AKTA Pures were: — the unicorn software is a mandatory requirement to allow compatibility with the existing machines in the lab being used for this work. It is unique to GE Healthcare systems (AKTA Pure). This software will allow PHE to transfer their protein purification methods to the new unit, — the materials specification must be the same as that used in the previous GE Healthcare system platform and so avoid activation of the blood coagulation pathway or blood complement cascade, — the enclosed fraction collector included with the Pure (F9-C) will be compatible with the existing inserts PHE currently have. This is also unique to GE Healthcare systems, — the sample pump is a mandatory requirement capable of delivering sample direct to column or indirect using a loop at flow rates of up to 150 ml/min and more importantly contain an inline pressure sensor to protect columns,0 — mandatory column valves have 2 integrated pressure sensors in the selection valve allowing detection of pre-column and post-column so providing the column delta pressure; whilst the control valve allows the column or multiples thereof to be bypassed or reverse flow applied, a unique feature to the GE AKTA platform, — mandatory requirement for multiple inlet valves for use during purification and cleaning with dual outlet valve to facilitate scale-up fractionation; whilst the protein separation is simultaneously measured at three separate wavelengths between 190-700 nm, the conductivity is determined in real-time with an integrated temperature sensor, and the pH monitored on a parallel line. These features are unique to the GE AKTA purification system. If you believe that you are capable of providing alternative solution that meets the specifications, then please email: Frantisek.Kasanic@phe.gov.uk