Unlocking Precision and Speed in Life Science Electrophoresis Systems

In today’s fast-paced world, scientists, chemists, pharmacologists, and other life science workers rely on accurate and dependable test results and increasingly need them faster. To succeed in a competitive market landscape, both speed (time-to-market) and accuracy (reliable data) are necessary, so sacrificing one for the other is not optimal. This blog explores ways to achieve both with advanced power supplies in electrophoresis system.

 

 

Data must be accurate and precise. It does no good to arrive at a conclusion faster if you cannot trust the results. At the same time, the conclusion should be reached within a reasonable period, but without compromising data. 

 

For many medical and pharmaceutical companies, clinical trials take a long time. Speeding up individual experiments and tests can shorten the overall trial process. In many cases, the types of hardware chosen can impact speed. In electrophoresis, the use of a fast-reversing high voltage power supply can increase yield and accuracy over a single-polarity version. In the blood testing industry, a faster test result and throughput will provide doctors (and patients) the data required to commence treatment faster.

 

Pharmaceutical companies are often in a race to release drugs and treatments to the medical market. To advance this effort, they have adopted a technique known as flow electroporation, which permits higher throughput than lab or “static” electroporation.

 

Enhancements in techniques, machine learning and even AI all have an impact on speed and accuracy. More fundamentally, modern sophisticated life sciences machines and systems rely on the delivery of precision power to an increasingly complex architecture of analytical instrumentation. The primary requirement for a power supply is to provide a clean, stable high-voltage signal to the samples. Voltage, power and stability considerations are fundamental to ensure the most efficient and effective outcome. However, there are other important factors and desired features to consider for power supplies in life science applications, as outlined below.

 

Adjusting the high voltage output ensures the power supply delivers the exact voltage needed for a particular process, leading to the most effective test outcome. 

 

For example, Advanced Energy’s (AE) UltraVolt® high voltage (HV) DC-DC power supplies can be fully adjusted over their entire voltage range, giving users a high degree of flexibility in tailoring the HV output to the exacting requirements of the application. In some types of electrophoresis applications, the high voltage output will need to be rapidly changed from 0V to a desired setpoint, and may even need to be switched from negative to positive. For this type of life science application, the HVA Series high voltage amplifier excels. This series of products is available in unipolar (positive or negative) or bipolar (switchable from negative to positive with no zero-crossing noise), making it well-suited for this application.

 

The unit must provide and maintain the high voltage signal to samples at the required wattage level. This requires a well-regulated high voltage output, which can maintain its output to the setpoint regardless of changes to the load. Advanced Energy’s LE Series has extremely precise load regulation, making it well-suited for any life sciences application which is sensitive to voltage fluctuations

Keeping the voltage steady over time is crucial for experiments, especially when applying high voltage for long periods. Fluctuations in voltage will lead to unreliable test results. In certain mass spectrometry applications (such as time-of-flight), accurate test results rely in a very large part in keeping the velocity of ions at a steady rate of acceleration, which is closely tied to the applied voltage. It can be seen here that a change in that voltage will consequently change the ion’s acceleration, potentially resulting in false/inconsistent flight times. Once again, the LE Series excels in situations like this. By employing proprietary HV feedback and control techniques and circuit design, the LE Series can be counted on to deliver consistent, precise HV levels with minimal drift over time and with changes in temperature.

 

A power supply that resists damage or calibration changes from repeated arcs allows for continuous, time-consuming and sequential experiments with minimum downtime, as the power supply can simply “run through” external arcs while the process continues. 

 

While all UltraVolt HV DC-DC power supplies are fully arc and short circuit-protected, the C Series and High-Power C Series stand out for robustness against these potentially damaging occurrences. Designed primarily for capacitor charging applications (which can be prone to arcs), these products are exceptionally well-suited for situations where arcing and short-circuits are frequent and can wreak havoc on less well-protected hardware.

The high voltage power supply must be increasingly efficient to reduce its overall effect on the instrument’s power budget. The higher the efficiency, the lower the power losses through heat, resulting in reduced cooling requirements and reliability.

 

High voltage power supplies often take up significant PCB area in a system. By employing innovative technologies, Advanced Energy have developed ranges of parts with smaller footprints, greater maximum voltage in a smaller package and ultimately the most compact solution. 

 

AE’s miniature series of products (including the AEQ, US, M, D, and V series) are designed with maximum performance and minimum footprint, volume and PCB real estate in mind. They are ideal for applications requiring multiple power supplies in tight spaces and all have the same important attributes (such as low ripple and good stability) found in all UltraVolt power supplies. 

 

The life science market is experiencing a growth in numerous areas and a greater “need for speed” in the drug discovery, genomic sequencing, laboratory test and chemical identification markets. The increased speed must not result in any compromise to accuracy. A supplier that can provide a power product that facilitates these goals and results – accurately, and more quickly – will enable customers to be at the forefront of the life sciences market segment.

 

Advanced Energy works with life science customers that are engaged in many applications, including analytical chemistry, materials analysis, mass spectrometry, electrophoresis, and the electroporation market. AE’s broad portfolio of high voltage products provides a solution for a wide range of voltage and power levels within this market, as well as in related fields. For more information on AE’s medical product offerings for the life science industry, visit: Life Science | Advanced Energy.