Lonza Nebula Absorbance Reader for endotoxin and pyrogen testing

Lonza has launched the Nebula Absorbance Reader, an absorbance microplate reader that joins the company’s portfolio of optimised instruments for streamlined endotoxin and pyrogen testing.

Pharmaceutical quality control (QC) laboratories worldwide rely on the traditional absorbance-based Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) and Tachypleus amebocyte lysate (TAL) assays to assure the safety of raw materials in process samples and manufactured products. However, the industry-standard absorbance reader for these assays — the ELx808TM Absorbance Microplate Reader (ELx808TM) — will no longer be sold by Lonza from late 2023. The Nebula Absorbance Reader represents a high-performance replacement reader, designed to deliver results comparable to those typically found with ELx808TM and to facilitate the smooth continuation of current pyrogen and endotoxin testing programs.

Designed for use alongside Lonza reagents, the microplate reader is optimised to work with, and meet all the specifications of, the company’s absorbance-based endotoxin assays such as the Lonza PYROGENT 5000 Turbidimetric and Kinetic-QCL Chromogenic Endotoxin Assays. The reader also supports the readout for monocyte activation tests (MAT) such as Lonza’s PyroCell MAT System. It features high-performance optics and monochromator-based wavelength selection to enable precise measurements of endotoxin levels, with a compact design that requires minimal laboratory space and allows for workflow flexibility.

The reader is fully integrated with the latest version of Lonza’s WinKQCL Endotoxin Detection and Analysis Software (v6.4), enabling users to meet the latest data integrity requirements. This reduces training burdens by removing the need for existing WinKQCL Software users to learn new software in order to use the reader. The product is also similar in design and build to the Nebula Multimode Reader — using the same user manual, the same service tools, and similar qualification procedures — which simplifies system maintenance.