HPLC at CCL - make functional or move to storage?

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

CCL is the proud owner of a fully functional Waters HPLC (High-Performance Liquid Chromatography) machine, which would be an valuable tool for a number of our projects. Only problem is... it is currently unusable without an expensive software key. BioCurious actually has the exact same model, and if I remember correctly Open Insulin paid something like $6K to get a *single* software key to get that one to work.

1) is Open Insulin actually getting any use out of the HPLC at BioCurious? If Open Insulin paid for the SW license (or did BioC pay part of it?), would it make more sense to the team to move that license to the HPLC at CCL?

2) A couple years ago, Patrick Coffey worked on some hardware and software that would allow us to run the HPLC without that expensive license from Waters. I don't remembers at what state that was left, or if anyone wants to pick up that thread again...

3) Alternatively, we should put this machine in storage, and/or try to sell it. Right now it is eating up valuable bench space that could be used for a new bioreactor system (that one of our new members is considering bringing in!)

Opinions?

Patrik

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Patrik D'haeseleer <pat...@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: Bioreactor access
To: Jessica McGrath <jessica....@gmail.com>
Cc: Margot Velez <margot...@hotmail.com>, Nouf Alhazmi <nouf....@gmail.com>, David C. Anderson <dcan...@aol.com>, Amelia Schoellenbach <amelia.sch...@gmail.com>

The HPLC should be fully functional, but currently unusable without an expensive software key. Unless someone is actively working on a workaround, we should store it somewhere rather than having it occupy valuable bench space. 

I assume it is too tall to go on one of the storage racks along the wall?

Patrik

On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 10:44 AM Jessica McGrath <jessica....@gmail.com> wrote:

Great! Thanks Margot! 

The empty side of the bench in the conference area is where the HPLC usually sits. It’s currently in a cart. If people think the bioreactors will get more use and want to reconfigure the lab, it’s fine by me. 

I could be available in the afternoons on either Monday or Tuesday. 

On Jan 28, 2023, at 2:00 PM, Margot Velez <margot...@hotmail.com> wrote:



Nouf will be using the bioreactor starting this week. I showed her the on/off switch and she seems to know plenty to get it to work, so I will not do the training. She’ll be doing her own project, growing green biodegradable plastic (from what I understand). A fascinating project with great promise. I may want to set up a Pichia/Insulin bioreactor run at the end of February, but we will coordinate when we get closer.

 

Nouf has other bioreactors that we could set up in the lab. It would be great to get more people working with the bioreactors, exchange info, maintain, use, teach, watch, learn. Even make vegan cheese!!! Hmmm.

The empty side of the third bench, currently sitting in the middle of our “conference room”, could be used for that. Would it be possible to move that bench back and reconnect the instruments on it? I think the rains have stopped. It took three of us to move it last time. Is anyone available this Monday or Tuesday?

 

From: Margot Velez
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2023 6:06 AM
To: Jessica McGrath
Cc: Nouf Alhazmi; Patrik D'haeseleer; David C. Anderson; Amelia Schoellenbach
Subject: Re: Bioreactor access

 

I’ll be around next week and can show her around, even set up a run. I’ll be out of town for 10 days as of the weekend of the 6th. I can do a weekend training the 25th. Training with a set up would take 3 consecutive days, at most three hours each. Plus a few days running with daily checks and sampling, and clean up.

> On Jan 25, 2023, at 8:28 PM, Jessica McGrath <jessica....@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
> We have a new member Nouf, who is very interested in running the bioreactor. She has experience and would like to run it soon. Please let her know what she would need to do to get trained on our equipment.

 

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

FYI - here's the 2020 email from Patrick Coffey on the work he had already done to get this machine operational:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Patrick Coffey <pat.c...@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: [CCLmembers] HPLC software
To: David Anderson <davidcha...@gmail.com>
Cc: Counter Culture Labs Members <cclme...@googlegroups.com>

I was working with Yann on this over a year ago.  I purchased a 24-bit ADC system from Measurement Computing and donated it to the lab along with some other equipment when I dropped out for health reasons.  I couldn't find the ADC when I came in a few months ago, but someone must know where it is.  I wrote software to acquire data from the Waters HPLC using the $49 DAQami software from Measurement Computing, store the runs in .csv format, and import it into OpenChrom, an open source chromatography software system.  The biggest problem in writing software was that the Measurement Computing system didn't have the ability to trigger a run based on a new injection, so I had to acquire all the data in one file along with digital signals from the injector and then break it into separate HPLC runs.  

Here's the startup screen from my software:

I have shared the folder that has my software with David Anderson  -- at least I think I have. I debugged it to my satisfaction, but no guarantees. It's written in Microsoft Visual Basic, and you'll need to install both Excel and DAQami on the computer as well.  I've also attached a document describing wiring the Waters 2695 and the detectors.

I worked at Waters 30 years ago running marketing for their data acquisition products.  I'm sure their software is good, but it's expensive.  I bought the Measurement computing system for under $400 on ebay and paid $49 for the DAQami software.  Good luck.

Patrick Coffey

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 1:02 AM David Anderson <davidcha...@gmail.com> wrote:

The HPLC company, Waters, has informed us that the price of the single license software will cost $5,900 and that they will be able to assist us in the installation. They will not, however, be able to give us any further discount or a 2 for 1 deal with BioCurious. The normal price of the software is $14,000. Maybe either CCL or BioCurious can get the installation and then say whichever lab gets it pays something like 60% of the cost and the other pays 40% ???

 

David

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Counter Culture Labs Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CCLmembers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/000301d65625%2428326ba0%24789742e0%24%40com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Counter Culture Labs Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CCLmembers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/CAPTcTp0888SnzT%3DSGBW%3Dbjn3uFnS%3DzwM3tStgUGTf00Jn2s83w%40mail.gmail.com.

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

And another followup from Patrick on the process:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Patrick Coffey <pat.c...@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Jul 19, 2020 at 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: [CCLmembers] HPLC software
To: David Anderson <davidcha...@gmail.com>
Cc: Counter Culture Labs Members <cclme...@googlegroups.com>

If someone will set up a zoom multi-user zoom meeting  for all interested parties, I can explain where we are.  You should have everything you need for a single HPLC, and the hardware for the second system should cost only a few hundred dollars if you'll wait for a used system on ebay.  The software I've written is pretty well tested.  

Here's the process:  

1.  Set up all HPLC methods, autosampler loading using the Waters 2695.  

2.  Acquire all data using Measurement Computing DAQami software ($49) on the Measurement Computing 24/16 data logger (I donated this earlier, $1200 list, often less on ebay).  I sent wiring instructions earlier for connecting the 24/16 to the Waters system.  The DAQami output will be a single file for all HPLC samples.

3.  Run my software to split the DAQami file into multiple HPLC runs, one for each sample.

4.  Import the output of my software into OpenChrom for analysis.

[David Anderson]

The HPLC at BioCurious is currently not functioning. Innokenti's son Alex was the most recent person that was running it and was going to give us training in December, but it stopped working. I’m not sure of the status. Innokenti would be the best person to contact for its status. His e-mail is: ito...@gmail.com.

 

Here is the folder that has protocols for running the HPLC:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WcO7PZhFE6vjPe9T9FJMU-Sz3aRVYzNG

 

Here is the folder that contains protocols and screen shots on how to try to use Patrick Coffey’s method of getting it to work without the software:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j8fTMnDwgnhFdG53CD1vlfk1PS0KijA5

 

This issues that we have had with running it without the software is that the LCD display on the HPLC at CCL is of very poor quality so you can’t read what buttons to press.

 

The last volunteer that tried to get the HPLC to work without the software at CCL is Leticia Sanchez. Here is her last e-mail on November 1, 2021:

<< 

It has been a while so my memories are a bit blurred. We connected all the tubing but I think there was a leak at one connection and the screen was damaged so it was very hard to read. The main obstacle was the signaling part since we didn't have the software for the UV detector. The idea was to use a voltmeter and a software that Patrick Coffee wrote some time ago. Having a technician taking a look at it sounds like a great idea.

-Leticia Sanchez

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/CAKOjizPVmu8qZnpLNTaPHei%3DOkbO38x0fg__Nv2seSr1iDXifQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Innokenti Toulokhonov]

Hi Guys,

The HPLC at Biocurious is not working.

One of companies located at Biocurious, Maculus Therapeutics, was using it extensively last year and they told us that HPLC stopped working in December 2022.

We are trying to arrange repair.

Innokenti 

On Jan 30, 2023, at 1:46 PM, 'David Anderson' via CCL Open Insulin project <ccl-i...@googlegroups.com> wrote:



<image002.png>

<image004.png>

I have shared the folder that has my software with David Anderson  -- at least I think I have. I debugged it to my satisfaction, but no guarantees. It's written in Microsoft Visual Basic, and you'll need to install both Excel and DAQami on the computer as well.  I've also attached a document describing wiring the Waters 2695 and the detectors.

 

I worked at Waters 30 years ago running marketing for their data acquisition products.  I'm sure their software is good, but it's expensive.  I bought the Measurement computing system for under $400 on ebay and paid $49 for the DAQami software.  Good luck.

 

Patrick Coffey

 

 

 

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 1:02 AM David Anderson <davidcha...@gmail.com> wrote:

The HPLC company, Waters, has informed us that the price of the single license software will cost $5,900 and that they will be able to assist us in the installation. They will not, however, be able to give us any further discount or a 2 for 1 deal with BioCurious. The normal price of the software is $14,000. Maybe either CCL or BioCurious can get the installation and then say whichever lab gets it pays something like 60% of the cost and the other pays 40% ???

 

David

 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Counter Culture Labs Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CCLmembers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/000301d65625%2428326ba0%24789742e0%24%40com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Counter Culture Labs Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CCLmembers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/CAPTcTp0888SnzT%3DSGBW%3Dbjn3uFnS%3DzwM3tStgUGTf00Jn2s83w%40mail.gmail.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Counter Culture Labs Members" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to CCLmembers+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/CCLmembers/CAKOjizPVmu8qZnpLNTaPHei%3DOkbO38x0fg__Nv2seSr1iDXifQ%40mail.gmail.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CCL Open Insulin project" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ccl-insulin...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ccl-insulin/005401d934f4%2436a64070%24a3f2c150%24%40com.