Science Pool

The dispensation of compounds in aqueous or DMSO solutions is an integral part of Evotec’s sample management processes. The company has the capability for the automated array of large numbers of samples between a large variety of different containers suitable for both, distribution or storage. Its extensive liquid handling resources cover the widest range of possible volumes.

High-volume systems can dispense and transfer from 1 uL to multi-milliliters to and from vials and plates, while mid-volume systems can dispense from 1 uL to 2 mL using 96, 384 and 1536 plates or racks (SBS - Society for Biomolecular Screening – formats).

As Evotec is striving towards the goal of getting drugs to patients faster, it is constantly seeking to improve the speed of screening cycles and data quality. To enable a step change in drug discovery research and development and to obtain results faster and even more accurately with very small sample sizes, Evotec recently invested in the so-called Acoustic Tubes technology in partnership with Brooks, Beckman and Titian. Acoustic sampling has revolutionised liquid handling and Evotec is using two different systems for acoustically dispensing volumes over 1 uL, or between 2.5 nl and 1 µl.

The technology is using ultrasonic acoustic energy, where energy focused just below the meniscus of a liquid sample ejects small droplets of liquid, enabling very small volumes to be transferred from source wells and precisely positioned onto a destination surface suspended above the ejection point. As a result, scientists can do more with less, handling multiple workflows and generating faster results without the restrictions of traditional tip-based liquid handling.

Moreover, this acoustic technology is combined with newly designed caps, a new de-capping and recapping technology hence creating the ability to store and access compounds long-term directly from the same tubes.

To evaluate the effects of acoustic labware use for long and short-term storage as well as the impact of freeze/thaw cycles and acoustic dispensing on compound integrity, Evotec has completed rigorous testing of the technology before adopting it.

The technology has a number of benefits. Most importantly, it speeds up screening cycles and improves the capacity for cherry-picking plate creation. Besides minimising compound consumption, it also works without disposable tips. This reduces waste, operating costs and eliminates the risk of cross-contamination between compounds. Moreover, its precision and speed leads to unsurpassed accuracy and repeatability of results, while maintaining sample integrity and viability during the transfer. All in all, it saves time, cost and resources, provides for highest possible precision, and increases the flexibility in transferring liquids at different positions and volumes.

Adoption of acoustic sampling technologies increases the flexibility of the compound library at Evotec and its partners and speeds up the throughput for assay-ready plate preparation while reducing the consumption of compounds. Evotec is offering direct access to this technology to its customers on demand.

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Evotec sample management team is responsible for the long-term storage and distribution of Evotec and partners compound collections.

In 2019, Evotec decided to invest in acoustic tubes technology in order to support future customer need and plan for potential transfer of our libraries into acoustic tubes. In parallel to this decision, Evotec sample management decided to initiate an internal project to evaluate the impact of acoustic tubes usage on compound integrity.

This poster highlights and describes the experiments performed, which substantiate and validate the use of acoustic tubes.

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The development of novel drugs is requiring much more than preclinical and clinical studies. Once scientists have identified a biological structure they want to block or to engage with, they begin screening for compounds that are able to fulfill this task. However, before they can even start this screening process, which can involve tens of thousands of compounds, these molecules have to be synthesized or extracted, purified, collected, stored, catalogued and tracked so that they can be made available to be processed.  

Compound management involves receiving and registering compounds from any external sources, organizing their long-term storage in a safe and controlled environment. For the acquisition of new molecules, Evotec has established a platform collecting and evaluating catalogs of compound providers. Compounds not yet available in Evotec’s collection can be sourced via this platform and added to the collection or made available to the customer as required. These compounds must be stored in a dedicated space under the right conditions in terms of temperature, humidity and other factors which could influence their stability. Access is restricted to authorized personnel to avoid accidental or deliberate manipulation of the samples. This requires a lot of logistics, regular controls, and supervision. 

To ensure high quality, safe, and speedy delivery of compounds, Evotec has established six compound management teams located in Europe and the US. Its main sites in Toulouse (France), and in Branford, (CT, USA), handle most of the samples received by Evotec, which include small molecules as well as biologicals. Overall, Evotec’s six compound management sites can store over 13 million compound containers under optimum conditions, and are able to process and deliver over 53 millions samples per year. The Company’s high quality compound storage and fast turnaround time, are based on robust automated technology, a highly sophisticated laboratory information management system (LIMS), and secure data management. All sites operate under quality management and internal auditing principles. The main sites  have developed a Business Continuity plan to ensure complete protection for our customers. Evotec is using Titian's Mosaic software, the leading software solution for sample management, providing  for a full audit trail and complete sample life cycle tracking. Every single sample carries a unique identifier barcode and the LIMS system is able to track each operations across all sample management processes, ensuring refill of depleted substances are automatically enacted.  The system has in-built redundancy to protect the data against critical loss. 

Once ordered, delivery of individual compounds or compound collections to customers and partners are organised in a short time frame ensuring the right format, concentration, and volume of substances are prepared. Samples are being shipped all over the world. Evotec also takes care of choosing the right parcel services, as frozen or temperature-sensitive substances need to be shipped under specific controlled conditions to protect temperature shift. In addition,  Evotec’s dedicated logistic team has expertise in documentation requirements, tariff classification, and import/export customs requirements to ensure compounds shipped can travel through customs without delays linked to incomplete paperwork.  

Evotec is continuously investing in state-of-the-art technologies to keep its compound management tools up to date. As an example, it invested in acoustic sample management, where liquids are transferred via acoustic sound waves, creating a droplet at the liquid’s surface. This technology increases flexibility, throughput and reduces compound consumption. The Company has been building screening libraries since 2004 and is serving a broad variety of customers ranging from academia, non-profit organizations to medium-sized biotech and big pharma. Apart from ordering and receiving compounds, customers  are also able to enter collaborations in which Evotec stores and manages their proprietary compound libraries and collections. This enables large companies as well as fast-growing SMEs to save space and costs while gaining more flexibility.  

As a result, customers profit from Evotec’s expertise, state of the art investment with large storage capacity and capabilities, its experienced staff and the inbuilt security safeguarding quality and availability of valuable compounds. Thereby, Evotec’s compound libraries and management tools significantly contribute to the success of drug discovery research projects as well as to medicinal product development. 

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Learn more about Evotec's regulated LC/MS bioanalysis capabilities and expertise including:

• High quality service across all phases of pre-clinical and clinical drug development in compliance with GLP and GCP regulations
• More than 25 years of experience to perform LC/MS activities in a regulated environment
• Extensive bioanalytical method development expertise to meet the most demanding and challenging client needs
• Multidisciplinary collaboration enabling integrated solutions to accelerate the drug development process

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Learn more about Evotec’s polymerase chain reaction (PCR) services including:

• Therapeutic modalities
• Sample management capabilities
• PCR applications 
• Quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) and reverse transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) applications, including copy number estimation assays, gene expression profiling and genotyping assaysRegulated PCR services

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Learn more about our ligand binding assays and how they can support biological drug testing in a regulated environment, including:

• Regulated bioanalysis
• Immunogenicity
• Immunotoxicity
• Biomarkers (safety and efficacy)
• Clinical Pathology
• Sample Management
• Additional activities

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