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Analytical expertise. Data-driven insights. Actionable results.

Gain actionable insights powered by industry-leading technology and trusted expertise. We offer a comprehensive suite of analytical services, ranging from media and protein analytics to investigative projects, to help you make informed decisions to improve performance. In-depth consultation is available to help you interpret the analytical data and implement process improvements.

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Services available

Media analytics

Protein analytics

  • Protein aggregation analyses 
  • Glycan analyses 
  • Charge variant analyses 

Investigative analytics

  • Identify causes of variability 
  • Create validated predictive models   
  • Improve consistency and productivity 

Stability studies

  • Real-time stability testing 
  • Available for of Gibco catalog and custom products

Identity verification method development service

  • Simplicity of pass/fail results 
  • Meets predefined specificity requirements  
  • Compliant with regulatory guidance 

Related services

Media analytics service

A spent media analysis provides you with rapid quantitative answers about changes to nutrient components and utilization profiles over time in your cell culture process. This analytical service is available for both fresh and spent media, as well as for a supplement analysis. Our team can provide you with data about the utilization profiles of amino acids, water-soluble vitamins, metabolites, trace elements, and other components in your media.

Turnaround time: 10 business-days*

Take advantage of our media analytics packages

We’ve packaged together many of the most commonly used assays for solving common performance optimization and process variability challenges. Choose among several packages or customize one specifically for your needs. All packages include a report of your analytical data (including a graph of results).

Potential benefits

  • Increase yield
  • Increase titers
  • Characterize your process
  • Accelerate time-to-market

Silver: Performance optimization

Gold: Performance optimization

Gold: Process variability**

 Assays:

  • Free amino acids
  • Water-soluble vitamins

 Assays: 

  • Free amino acids
  • Water-soluble vitamins
  • Trace elements
  • Polyamines
  • Nucleosides
  • Lipids
  • Carbohydrates

 Consultation***

 Assays:

  • Free amino acids
  • Water-soluble vitamins
  • Trace elements
  • Polyamines
  • Nucleosides
  • Lipids
  • Carbohydrates

 Consultation***

Silver: Performance optimization

Gold: Performance optimization

Gold: Process variability**

 Assays:

  • Free amino acids
  • Molecular weight
  • Total amino acids

 Assays:

  • Free amino acids
  • Water-soluble vitamins
  • Trace elements
  • Polyamines
  • Nucleosides
  • Lipids
  • Carbohydrates
  • Molecular weight
  • Total amino acids

 Consultation***

 Assays:

  • Free amino acids
  • Water-soluble vitamins
  • Trace elements
  • Polyamines
  • Nucleosides
  • Lipids
  • Carbohydrates
  • Molecular weight
  • Total amino acids

 Consultation***

* For most routine services. Additional time may be required for more complex services. Estimates will be provided based on the scope of work.

** This offering request 6 good and 6 bad lots of fresh media, with a minimum 1 sample per lot and a maximum 20 samples per lot.

*** Includes up to 3 hours of consultation and a recommendation for a solution.

Optional add-ons, priced separately, include:

  • Targeted omics panels, including metabolite and lipid analysis
  • Protein quality assays, including n-glycan analysis, charge variant analysis, and/or protein aggregation analysis
  • Statistical analysis of testing results

Download our Focused media analytics packages flyer ›

 

Assay

Method

Albumin

LC

Amino acids, free

LC

Carbohydrates, total

Plate-based

Cholesterol (only)

LC

Elemental

ICP-MS

Glucose/lactate

LC or bioprocess analyzer

L-alanyl-L-glutamine dipeptide1

LC

Insulin

LC

Nucleosides

LC

Organic acids

LC

Pluronic/poloxamer

LC

Polyamines

LC

Transferrin

LC

Vitamins, water-soluble

LC

Assay

Method 

Amino acids, total

LC

Anions

IC

Carbohydrates profile

IC

Choline

IC

Fatty acids, free

GC-MS

Lipids (mono-, di-, and triglycerides)

LC

Vitamins, fat-soluble

LC

Additional assays available upon request.

† LC: liquid chromatography; ICP-MS: inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; IC: ion chromatography; GC-MS: gas chromatography–mass spectrometry.

 1Analyte from Gibco GlutaMAX Supplement

Anions

Bromide, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, sulfate

Carbohydrates profile

2’-deoxy-D-ribose, arabinose, fructose, fucose, galactose, glucosamine, glucose, glycerol, inositol, lactose, maltose, mannose, raffinose, ribose, sorbitol, stachyose, sucrose, trehalose

Elemental

Aluminum, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, sulfur, tin, vanadium, zinc

Amino acids, free

Alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cystine, ethanolamine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, hydroxyproline, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, taurine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine

Organic acids

Acetate, citrate, formate, fumarate, α-ketoglutarate, lactate, malate, pyroglutamate, pyruvate, succinate

Polyamines

Cadaverine, putrescine, spermidine, spermine

Vitamins, water-soluble

Biotin, cyanocobalamin (B-12), folic acid, folinic acid, niacinamide, pantothenate, para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, pyridoxine, riboflavin, thiamine

Assays and components may vary by site. Please discuss your specific requirements with your Thermo Fisher Scientific representative.

Metabolite and lipid analysis service 

Gain deeper insights on your cell culture process to help drive improved media performance. The metabolite and lipid analysis service can help you meet your goals by offering in-depth analytical characterization of media, spent media, and intracellular components. You’ll receive absolute and relative quantitation data for hundreds of metabolites and polar and neutral lipids spanning 14 classes.

This service can be customized to fit your exact needs. Select metabolite analysis, lipids analysis, or both. Choose to add statistical analysis, which includes multivariate analysis.

Fast turnaround time: The metabolite and lipid analysis service provide comprehensive profiling of your samples with optional advanced data statistics, interpretation, and visualization in as little as 4 weeks. You can expect a typical turnaround of 2 to 3 weeks for data, with an additional 2 weeks for advanced data statistics, interpretation, and visualization.

Examples where this service can benefit your biological process development include:

  • Coupling it with targeted cell culture experiments for optimization of media performance
  • Characterization of a complex cell culture environment
  • Identification of critical components that may impact growth, titer, and product

Protein analytics service

Our protein analytics services can help characterize your protein’s Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs) and Post-Translational Modifications (PTMs). This offering takes advantage of the use of:

  • Protein aggregation analyses—providing information about the stability of your protein
  • Glycan analyses—to understand the glycosylation profile of your antibody
  • Charge variant analyses—to understand charge heterogeneity that can change throughout the biopharmaceutical production process as well as during purification and storage

Turnaround time: 10 business-days*

Potential benefits

  • Streamline process development
  • Improve the pharmacokinetics of molecules
  • Improve molecular stability
  • Improve protein quality
  • Reduce variability

Assay

Method ††

lgG: aggregation

LC

lgG: charge variant

LC

lgG: N-glycan

LC

lgG: purification

NA

lgG: quantification

LC

Lipids (mono-, di-, and triglycerides)

LC

* For most routine services. Additional time may be required for more complex services. Estimates will be provided based on the scope of work.

† Additional assays available upon request.

†† LC: liquid chromatography; ICP-MS: inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; IC: ion chromatography; GC-MS: gas chromatography–mass spectrometry; NA: not applicable.


Investigative analytics service

Customized advanced analytical projects are available through our investigative analytics service to help you troubleshoot any problems you may be facing in your process. If you are experiencing variability, the Key Driver Identification (KDI) approach—using advanced analytics techniques and mathematical modeling—may be utilized. Additionally, this service can help identify other media and process related issues, such as precipitation, and can include complete extractable and leachable studies.

Turnaround time: based on project scope

Potential benefits

  • Identify causes of variability in performance 
  • Create validated predictive models  
  • Improve consistency and productivity

Stability studies

Gibco Media by Design Services offers real time stability testing of your Gibco catalog and custom products in their packaged form, under certain conditions and specific time points as determined by you. We have performed testing for industry, government and academia, and possess the capability to perform a variety of quality tests dependent upon the stability indicating factors for your unique formulation. Understanding the stability of your Gibco custom formulation over time is important for setting expiration dates for materials in your bioproduction process.

  • As the manufacturer of your medium, we have expert knowledge to apply to your formulation
  • Save time and money by eliminating the need to transfer samples from multiple lots

Identity verification method development service

To comply with evolving regulatory requirements, biological therapeutic manufacturers are faced with the need to perform identification testing on media and buffers used in the manufacturing process of their therapeutic. Many regulatory agencies, such as the USFDA, now require identity verification testing on each batch of production raw materials to confirm that materials constantly meet specifications (USFDA Compliance Guidance Q7 GMP for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, section 7.3).

Thermo Fisher Scientific has the technology and expertise to help you develop a highly specific, rapid, and compliant identification test for your bioproduction raw materials with pass/fail results. Our identity verification method development service includes a detailed method development report, written test procedure templates (when applicable), electronic method files (when applicable), support for method transfer to your site, and method validation support.


Unsure which service might be right for you? 

Try our Media by Design Services interactive selection guide. Select your modality and challenge, learn about options available for your specific needs.

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Bioprocessing resources

Access a targeted collection of scientific application notes, case studies, posters, white papers and more for bioprocessing:

For research use or further manufacturing. Not for diagnostic use or direct administration into humans or animals.