Waters OligoWorks SPE kits and components for oligonucleotide bioanalysis

Waters has launched its OligoWorks SPE (solid phase extraction) kits and components to improve sample preparation for LC-MS-based bioanalytical quantitation of therapeutic oligonucleotides. Pharma and biopharma companies developing oligonucleotide therapeutics and the contract research organisations (CROs) that support them can now realise up to a 2x increase in oligonucleotide recovery from biofluids, the manufacturer says, with the kits designed to deliver greater reproducibility and LC-MS sensitivity, enabling lower limits of quantitation and reducing the need for repeat experiments.

The pipeline for oligonucleotide therapeutics is rapidly expanding, with 13 FDA-approved oligonucleotide therapeutics today, and 500+ in the pipeline. While potent, these highly modified oligonucleotides are challenging to precisely quantify during dosing, metabolism and tissue distribution studies. The OligoWorks SPE kits are designed to directly address oligonucleotide bioanalysis sample prep challenges across diverse oligo therapeutics, with standardised protocols that reduce method development and sample processing time.

The kits use an innovative, enzyme-enhanced, detergent-free sample pretreatment that is said to reduce washing steps and improve mass spectrometer compatibility, thus enabling direct injection LC-MS analysis and lower limits of quantitation. They can also be fully automated for improved productivity, or to simply help scientists gain back time by reducing manual steps and oversight. They are designed to simplify laborious sample preparation workflows; improve robustness and repeatability; address poor/inconsistent recoveries; and enable greater MS sensitivity and precision.