Multiple uses for ABX Pentra 400 clinical chemistry analyser at Unilever

One year on from its installation at Unilever’s Corporate Research Labs at Colworth Park, the HORIBA ABX Pentra 400 clinical chemistry analyser is proving a highly useful resource to many scientists based at this major facility. Core to the philosophy of these researchers is ‘Vitality’ as they investigate new hotspots in science to scope out future products which will impact on human health and well being. The ABX Pentra 400 is consequently contributing to the development of new food and home and personal care products which aim to meet the everyday needs of people worldwide.

Mr Duncan Talbot, Specialist and Biomarker Assay Technologist, explained the key types of research for which the ABX Pentra 400 is used. “Over 100 scientists based at the facility are involved in research that focuses on human health. Many are studying human metabolism, so they require highly accurate measurements of blood metabolites and biomarkers such as HbA1c, APOA1 and CRP. Such measurements enable the assessment of intervention studies.

As the ABX Pentra 400 is being used by a variety of research groups across the site, its flexibility and user friendliness were key reasons for its selection by Unilever. “The ABX Pentra 400 has the capacity to undertake many different assays. As it is also an open system we are able to augment the range of assays possible and readily change parameters and protocols to modify assays of our own and further enhance our research potential,” said Duncan. “The touch-screen set up on the analyser is very straightforward, and there is also on screen help. This is ideal for our environment where there’s always someone new needing to use the ABX Pentra 400, so it has to be intuitive and easy to use.”

Duncan added, “Unilever research scientists are involved in a number of networking groups and joint international studies, consequently having up to date technology on hand is vital for us so that we can share expertise and analysers. Previously we contracted out to local hospital laboratories, having the ABX Pentra 400 means we have now reduced our turnaround time to results and costs. It also allows for our increasing workload as we enter more collaborations and varied studies.”

In addition, the ability to validate and reproduce results for comparative studies was also of great importance to the researchers. “We believe that all our studies should meet the highest scientific standards. The ABX Pentra 400 actually enables us to follow GLP, as it marks all reagents and logs batches,” said Duncan.

“Our research is largely based on population and scientific trends, so we never know what’s round the corner, therefore we need an analyser that is future proof. The flexibility of the ABX Pentra 400, its onboard validation protocols, as well as help and advice provided by HORIBA ABX personnel are all highly important to us. We look forward to many more years of obtaining high quality results from the ABX Pentra 400,” concluded Duncan.