High profile for pKa measurement

Published: 1-Jul-2003


An automated instrument for the measurement of pKa (aqueous ionisation constant) during early stage pharmacokinetic tests has been introduced by UK-based Sirius Analytical Instruments.

Knowledge of pKa is essential for obtaining a complete physicochemical profile of a compound, says Sirius. If a molecule is ionisable - and approximately 75% of all physiologically active compounds are - its properties are pKa dependent and will be affected by pH.

The ProfilerSGA measures 300 assays a day using 50µg of sample solution per assay. It measures samples direct from microplates using multi-wavelength UV spectroscopy and a linear 2-12 pH unit gradient.

Results are automatically calculated by Sirius's ProfilerRefine software. 'This powerful technique deconvolutes the multi-wavelength spectra to give accurate pKa values, even when UV absorbance peaks of different species in solution are close together or overlap and conventional first derivative spectral analysis is inadequate,' said technical director John Comer.

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