Gator® Plus: Exploring the Enhanced Capabilities of Biolayer Interferometry

The Gator^® Plus is a medium-throughput device that can be used for quantitation, kinetics, and epitope binning. This device provides speedy results using biolayer interferometry (BLI) technology.

Users can get more “hands-off” time and rise above the noise.

This fluidics-free device can accommodate microplates with 96 or 384 wells. Rich datasets can be obtained with a walk-away time of more than six hours and little hands-on effort. A variety of biomolecules, including small molecules, antibodies, and proteins, can be analyzed with Gator^® Plus.

The enhanced baseline stability provided by Gator^® Plus results in high-quality data that can be precisely analyzed for even the most challenging pairs. Quantifying pM affinity pairings with Gator® Plus is easier due to its better signal-to-noise ratio.

Specifications

Table 1. Source: Gator Bio, Inc.

General Specifications	Gator® Prime	Gator® Plus	Gator® Pro
Detection Technology	Next-gen Biolayer Interferometry
Simultaneous Reads	8	8	8, 16, 24, and 32
Spectrometers	8	8	32
Acquisition Rate	2, 5, and 10 Hz
Temperature Control	Ambient plus 4 °C to 40 °C
Dimension (HxWxD) and Weight	47 x 31 x 67 cm, 35 kg	68 x 44 x 73 cm, 55 kg	84 x 114 x 77 cm, 220 kg
Automation Compatible	No	No	Yes
Performance Specifications	Gator® Prime	Gator® Plus	Gator® Pro
Sample Types	Proteins, antibodies, peptides, nucleic acids, liposomes, viruses, small molecules
Maximum Sample Capacity	168	456	1152
Types of Analysis	Yes/no binding, quantitation, kinetics, affinity, off-rate ranking, epitope binning
Minimum Sample Volume	100 μL	40 μL	40 μL
Baseline Noise (RMS)	≤ 4 pm
Baseline Drift	≤ 0.12 nm/hour	≤ 0.1 nm/hour	≤ 0.1 nm/hour
Associate Rate kon	101 to 107 M-1 s-1
Dissociation Rate koff	10-6 to 10-1 s-1
Affinity Constant KD	10 pM to 1 mM
Binning Capacity	12x12	16x16	32x32

Image Credit: Gator Bio, Inc.

Biolayer Interferometry (BLI)

Gator^® systems are label-free analysis tools that use next-generation biolayer interferometry (BLI) technology. Biosensing probes are immersed in samples to identify biomolecular interactions.

Micro glass rods called Gator^® probes have specific optical coatings and surface chemistries on their distal ends.

The association or disassociation of biomolecules causes a phase shift in the optical interference pattern produced by the sensing surface of a probe. Binding curves can be yielded through continuous phase-shift measurements.

The sensorgram shows the real-time association and disassociation curves for a binding kinetics experiment using a Gator^® system. Image Credit: Gator Bio, Inc.

The ease of use, adaptability, flexibility, and throughput of Gator® systems have facilitated numerous applications in manufacturing, life science research, and pharmaceutical development.

A Powerful Tool for Discovery, Development, and Manufacturing

In comparison to other commercial BLI products, the next-generation BLI is more sensitive and offers more robust performance. Various applications, from drug discovery to therapeutic manufacturing, are also supported

• Biotherapeutics
  • Kinetics analysis
  • Epitope binning
  • Manufacturing QC
  • Process development
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Antibody titer measurements
• Gene therapy
  • Neutralizing/total antibody detection
  • AAV quantitation and kinetics
  • Receptor interaction
  • Gene expression
• Drug discovery and development
  • Protein–small molecule interaction
  • Peptide binding analysis
• Life science research
  • Receptor–ligand binding
  • Protein-protein interaction
  • Assay development and optimization

A User-Friendly Label-Free Technology

The components of Gator^® Systems include instruments, probes, and a software program for data collection and processing.

• Assay template generation
• Real-time binding curves
• Epitope binning
• Report generation
• Simple and fast assay setup
• Kinetics and affinity analysis
• Automated quantitation
• Quantitation, kinetics, and regeneration in one run

Gator^® software for GMP and GLP

Gator^® Part11 Software enables users in GMP or GLP environments to adhere to FDA 21 CFR Part 11 standards. The data that the Part11 Software gathers is time-stamped and traceable. Account management, improved audit trails, and documented user sessions are all in accordance with FDA guidelines.

A Full Suite of Applications

Table 2. Source: Gator Bio, Inc.