Imagine a chemist with little experience in oligonucleotide synthesis having confidence that their method will work first time. It can happen with a little help from the right software.
UNICORN™ 7 software has changed the way method creation, evaluation, and process optimizations for scale-up are accomplished. By using the newly introduced phases that come with UNICORN™ 7 software, a user can access predefined, validated instructions, and methods are created based on these instructions for successful synthesis. The user still has control over the intended scale, the column used, the type of solid support, the packing density required, and the specific sequence to be synthesized.
Each phase is made up of blocks, which are sets of instructions. The synthesis method is created by a simple drag and drop of each phase in the intended order, and a method is written automatically at the back end. Senior Oligonucleotide Chemist, Ganesh Nawale, says, “Phases can be customized and shared with colleagues at a local or even a global level. The database functionality allows use at multiple sites. The use of phases gives new users the ability to use the same phases and methods on different instruments. Thus, they have the confidence required to create successful methods.”
With the phases, users can make segmented methods with several different parameters or conditions within one single mechanism. In other words, these individual phases allow users to modify parameters at a specific point without impacting other phases or parameters. For advanced users, the legacy text method for creation and editing is still available if they prefer using it. The software also allows the user to copy independent blocks, removing the need to import, save, and rename the blocks. As a result, the processing is simpler and faster.
Fig 1. The drag and drop functionality for basic phases and the sequence editor
Top tip: make sure your synthesis always starts with a proper wash of the full flow path.
In addition, UNICORN™ 7 software provides an easy and flexible way to change parameters for each reaction step either for each base addition or for all bases in the synthesis. These parameters include volumes required, concentrations, and equivalents as well as timings and wash volumes. Blocks not in use can easily be removed from the method in a dialog box. Furthermore, the logbook and chromatogram can be displayed at the same time. The logbook is on the side of the chromatogram, and when the user clicks on the logbook, a marker is displayed at that point in the chromatogram. If you undertake multiple repetitions of a specific step, UNICORN™ 7 software enables a loop number selection in phases, which makes changes in cycle repetition uncomplicated.
Fig 2. The scouting table for parameter settings for ÄKTA oligosynt™ synthesizer
Darko Hrgetic, Field Application Scientist for oligonucleotides, confirms that, “The design and development of UNICORN™ 7 software has been completed with a sympathetic eye on the compatibility of ÄKTA oligosynt™ synthesizer with OligoPilot™ and OligoProcess™ systems, in order to provide alignment and ease for scale up when transferring method parameters.” One example is the use of CV/min, which offers full understanding of the revolution of reagents over the column.
The addition of instrumentation in the flow path produces an extensive amount of data during synthesis. Thus, the resolution in the chromatogram has been increased more than 10× (from 16 000 to 180 000 data points) to collect full sampling data and accommodate longer runs while still offering much-improved data analysis from your result file. When doing the analysis in the evaluation tool, filter options in the run log will assist in troubleshooting. Experienced Cytiva oligo synthesis users will need to compare results with those from a system using legacy UNICORN™ 5.31 software, which is effortlessly achieved.
Fig 3. A chromatogram for a full synthesis zoomed in to a mapping of the current position in the chart
Oligo chemists are in high demand. So, invest in software that can bring your team up to speed as quickly as possible to improve run time and reduce error rates. Carina Andersson, Senior Product Manager for Oligo synthesis systems, concludes “Cytiva’s UNICORN™ 7 software is like having an experienced oligo chemist right there in the lab guiding you. Contact Cytiva to learn more about this computer-based chemist. You only have to feed it data!”