PAuLa - Peptide Automation Lane

Client / Location: Thermo Fisher Scientific, Ulm

Period: 2002 - 2015

Design and implementation of a LIMS for peptide production

Context

This project included automation software for the production and quality control of peptides in a biotechnology environment.

At the beginning, there was neither a digital workflow nor an information management system for peptide production, so process modeling and stakeholder alignment were essential.

Through extensive audits, the existing process was documented and translated into a structured digital model.

After the implementation phase, PAuLa showed:

Fast commissioning
Immediate efficiency gains in several production areas
Low-maintenance operation

PAuLa is an agile system that has been continuously developed and has supported growing demand for peptides over many years.

Responsibilities

Requirements Engineering
Specification documentation
Database design
Interface design for the ERP system
Software design
Implementation

System Overview

System Requirements

Elimination of isolated solutions
Central storage of all laboratory data
Integration of production and analytical instruments:
- Synthesizers
- Preparative HPLC
- Mass spectrometers
- Analytical HPLC
Integration of barcode scanners for traceability of laboratory data
Processing of binary, ASCII, WMF, GIF, and other formats
Quality management:
- "Quality Review" module as a bridge between production and QC
- Product sheets / quality certificates

System Environment and Tools

System Environment

MSSQL Server 7.0 / 2000 / 2008 R2
Navision Financials

Development Tools

Borland Delphi 5.0 / 7.0
CVSNT / WinCvs
MSSQL Enterprise Manager / Query Analyzer

Modules and Functions

Synthesizer Assignment

Peptides that have not yet been synthesized are assigned to a synthesizer palette using multiselect and drag and drop.

Peptide Tree

Peptides and related objects are structured hierarchically, including automatic status progression. Different peptide types created in different workflows are typed and influence both status models and the automatic creation of subordinate objects.

Preparative HPLC

The preparative HPLC purifies peptides in several phases, including fraction collection. All relevant data is captured in the LIMS, and online chromatograms are generated automatically so that product location within the fractions can be evaluated early.