I too received a call from Dave at PE Biosystems after I had posted on the
bulletin board that columns were not available. Miraculously, columns
suddenly were available and would be sent to me immediately.
However, prior to that both PE protein tech support and a very reliable PE
service engineer had shared with me that these columns were not available
due to production problems resultant after the merger. I have also been
told by PE Biosystems staff that PTH C-18 columns should not be stored but
ordered in when needed for best resolution. This is why I was without an
"extra" column. I tend to order a new one when I first start to notice
loss of resolution and in this particular case I was requesting a
replacement column. Yet, Dave indicated there is no problem with 6 month
storage periods. Sounds like the left hand doesn't know what the right
hand is doing.
Forgive my impatience but my initial column request was mid January to
replace a column that had yielded 250 cycles. I don't need to know the
real scoop, I just need a reliable column in so I can sequence again. A
second column I had purchased from a source that I and many others have
relied on in the past was giving an extremely poor elution profile as well.
Perhaps there are bad lots of resin that are utilized by more than one
manufacturer.
I and my PE service engineer fully tested the instrument and finally
installed a very old column which gave an appropriate elution profile but
with the broadening baseline resolution one expects from an old column. So
we know the problem was with the two recent columns even though they were
provided by two different vendors.
My intent in placing this on the bulletin board is not to place blame
anywhere but to keep up the awareness. It is my own opinion after doing
protein sequencing for approximately 10 years that the quality of columns
is not what it used to be. This is an issue that can be extremely
challenging for core facilities doing protein sequencing. We must be able
to rely on our sources for quality consumables that are mandatory to
accomplish our work.
I would also like to say that even though there was an obvious
miscommunication issue at PE this time that they have been extremely
supportive and provided quality information and assistance numerous times
in the past. PE, and in the old days, ABI essentially helped us build our
core facility from the ground up.
C.L. Owens
Molecular Biology Core Laboratory
W516, School of Medicine
2119 Abington Rd.
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH 44106
Tel: 216-368-6168
Fax: 216-368-8750