Press Releases

Henderson Morley PLC Selects NanoSight Instrumentation for Rapid Virus Titre Assessment

Salisbury, UK, September 2009: NanoSight, manufacturers of unique nanoparticle characterization technology, announce that UK biotechnology company, Henderson Morley plc, is using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) to quantify virus particle number for batch to batch control.

Henderson Morley is developing an exciting pipeline of anti-viral drugs and vaccines and biological products to fight a wide range of diseases in humans and animals. Their lead vaccine technology platform uses PREPS and L-particles which are virus-like particles derived from Human Herpes Virus 1 (HHV-1). These particles have the same size as herpes viruses, but do not contain viral DNA and are therefore sterile. Conventional viral quantification relies on the infectious yield of viruses but as these particles do not replicate, an alternate quantification technique had to be found.

Previously the only way to quantify particle number relied on less accurate protein concentration measurements. The company had also used costly and time consuming electron microscopy through a local university, and although this gave good results, it was not practical for batch to batch quantification of the L and PREPS particles.

Several benefits have been produced since the purchase the NanoSight system. Henderson Morley’s Principal Scientist, Dr Chris Hartley, has been impressed with the speed and ease of use. “The reproducibility of results providing both particle size and particle counts in real time has been excellent. Also negligible on-going and running costs have meant that the NanoSight instrument is proving to be a very cost effective solution.”

NanoSight’s Head of Applications Science, Andrew Malloy, adds “It is clear that we have a solution to a widespread problem, that of assessing viral titre. The results we are delivering for a range of users in viral vaccine production are contributing directly to improving the yield and stability of their products throughout the production process. We are delighted that Henderson Morley were so quick to recognise the value these analyses can provide.”

To learn more about viruses and their characterization using NTA, please visit www.nanosight.com. Register for the latest issue of NanoTrail, the company’s eNewsletter.

Dr Chris Hartley,
Principal Scientist at Henderson Morley

About NanoSight
NanoSight Ltd, of Amesbury, UK, is the world leading provider of instruments for the optical detection and real time analysis of sub-micron particles. The Company supplies unique instruments for nanoparticle analysis in the sub-micron region that have specific application in virus particle detection and counting. These instruments go far beyond existing light scattering techniques in characterizing polydispersed systems. Founded in 2004, the company currently has approaching 200 systems in service worldwide, having begun commercial sales in 2006.

The Company’s proprietary knowledge and expertise has enabled the delivery of technologies to blue chip companies and universities for direct visualization of individual nanoscale particles in suspension from which independent quantitative estimation of particle size, size distribution and concentration are immediately obtained. The Company has recently launched additions to its advanced Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA) software that build on the ground-breaking work of NanoSight’s LM20 and LM10 systems.

The Company has a growing base of users worldwide, including BASF, GlaxoSmithKline, 3M Corp, BP, ICI, Roche & Unilever and many universities. For more information, visit NanoSight's website.

For further information
Please contact NanoSight direct or their marketing agency, NetDyaLog Limited: