In pre-clinical trials, the metabolism of the drug lead in animal models is studied. Drugs are administered to animals and blood samples are collected. The half-life of the drug lead is measured. This is accomplished by using target-immobilized PhyTip columns to pull out excess or free drug in the complex sample. The results of these studies give researchers clues on how to increase or decrease metabolism as needed and how to dose the drug. The challenge of the work includes the number of samples that are generated, the small volume of precious sample available, and the potentially low concentrations of drug in the collected sample. Automation using PhyTip columns enables parallel processing to ensure all samples are treated exactly the same way.
Pull down experiments are typically done using loose beads tumbling in the cold room. This is manual and low throughput. PhyTip columns generate reproducible data quickly through active transport.