NMR WorkCenter

The One Minute-NMR™ automation system is the Protasis flagship offering for open-access, high-throughput sample loading of microvial-based and wellplate-based samples into the Protasis CapNMR probe.  This automation system has been designed from the ground up based upon feature requests and user preferences vocalized by our pharmaceutical customers.  The list of product features is extensive, and is continuously expanding as we incorporate new protocols and processes that we learn through interactions with our valuable customers.

Protasis One-Minute NMR is a fully-compliant network application.  It uses your choice of web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) and computer (running MS Windows, Apple Mac or Linux) to allow sample login and sample monitoring from any connected location in the enterprise or institution.  A real-time process server manages fluidics, robotics and spectrometer comnunication for reliable spectral acquisition.  Seamless interfaces are provided to ACD/Labs Structure Verification and OneMoonScientific dataChord post-processing applications.  At the end of the process, results are automatically databased and a report is emailed to each user.

The Discovery WorkCenter manages the fluidics and instrument software.  The Rack-Mount Deuterated Solvent Conditioner protects valuable NMR solvents using a combination of helium sparging and blanketing as well as vacuum degassing.  This system is effective at keeping DMSO dry for weeks at a time and removing dissolved gases that degrade fluidic reproducibility.  The WorkCenter can hold up to four dedicated HTSL Pumps to allow FAST solvent switching in multi-user applications.  The top bay hold the Protasis Instrument Server that runs a Microsoft IIS Web Server for sample login, a SQL Server database for your sample queue and a Real-Time Process Server to run the show!  The bottom bay holds Wash Station Control Valves to control flowrates and preserve deuterated sample going to the CTC/LEAP wash stations.

The Swiss-manufactured CTC liquid handling robot (marketed in the United States by Leap Technologies, www.leaptec.com) was selected for this application based upon its extensive and successful history with handling of microliter-volume samples in LC-MS.  The Protasis Discovery Tower incorporates the chromatography-grade pumps and valves required for accurate and reliable sample transport through capillary-scale transit lines.  A host of options exist that include tray formats for sample storage, an ability to incorporate sample return, active sample filtration, and most recently a means to incorporate additional channels to load samples into the Protasis Dual Flowcell CapNMR probes.