In my old lab everyone was slowly converting to Bio-rad for
chromatography. We had an Akta and subsequently bought two Bio-rad
DuoFlow. I actually never made the conversion then but those that had
didn't want to use the Akta anymore.
Upon starting my own lab I got quotes for both an Akta and a DuoFlow
and the cost difference was striking. As Tamir said, the DuoFlow
really is plug and play and you can build up the system you want so
just buying the basic may not get you far but relatively easily you
can get all of the features of a mid-range Akta (mutiple buffer
valves, column valves, multiwavelength (4)). I should add that in all
my interaction with equipment reps at GE Healthcare I generally came
away with the feeling that they don't care that much about academics.
They have a real air of superiority which is enough for me to not buy
from them (although I get all my columns from them!).
There are a few downsides to the DuoFlow. The software is not as nice
as that for the Akta but it is fairly easy to train on and all of my
people have gotten along fairly easily with it. The pumps for the
standard DuoFlow are rated for much higher pressures than we
biochemists typically use so sometimes they can struggle with
pressures below 40 PSI. We got around this by adding a pressure
inducer past the pump and have had no problems since. The only other
downside that I'd mention is that the service reps aren't very well
trained so this may not be the best system if it is the first time
you've seen an FPLC. We had a Service Rep come in who forgot to turn
off the pump after his test runs. This happened on a Friday and no
one noticed the pump was running until the following Tuesday. This
killed the pump but they quickly came and replaced all the parts and
we haven't had a problem since.
My final point is that Bio-rad is really great (at least here in LA)
with academics and we were able to bundle in all of our protein gel
parts, DNA gel parts, PCR machines, Gel Doc etc for less than the
quote for the equivalent Akta. In fact, I just had a second Duo-Flow
installed yesterday and was able to again bundle in a lot more
equipment for my slowly growing lab. Bio-Rad isn't perfect but they
get at least a B+ from me for general support and in the end my
experience continues to be a positive one. It is probably the best
purchasing experience I had in my start up and the only one I haven't
had some major regret on.
Just my 2 cents,
Bil
On Feb 14, 2007, at 8:41 AM, Tamir Gonen wrote:
I beg to differ.
I have been an AKTA explorer user for about 5 years and switched to
DuoFlow about 4 yrs ago and now have one in my own lab. The BioRad
DuoFlow is awesome. It never ever breaks. I never had any problems
with this machine at all, it takes any column (pharmacia or
otherwise) given the right adapters. The AKTA are really cumbersome
and complicated to use and teach on - its all inside a big black
box that looks (and feels) like a tank, while the DuoFlow has a
really simple design, and is basically "plug and play".
The AKTA is really good for analytical applications when you have
very small amounts of your protein and of course you can detect
multiple wave lengths at a time (you can add special unit for multi
wavelengths on the biorad). The DuoFlow struggles with very small
protein concentrations (<0.05mg/ml) and the void volume on its
tubing further dilutes the sample. If you know what you are doing,
it is easy to optimize the setup in such a way that you minimize
the void volume on the DuoFlow.
Finally, the AKTA has an in line filter which always gets clogged
up when you have buffer with detergent. The DuoFlow does not have a
filter at all which means if your students and postdocs are not
careful, the filters in the column will get clogged. But all you
need to do is filter your sample prior to injection.
BioRad service is not so great but if you take care of your machine
you really dont need to worry. It is really robust. Plus, for the
price of an explorer you could buy two top-of-the-line DuoFlow
systems together with columns.
Tamir.
______________________
Dr Tamir Gonen
Department of Biochemistry
Box 357350
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Tel: (206) 616 7565 (Office)
(206) 616 8529 (Lab)
Fax: (206) 685 1792
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://faculty.washington.edu/tgonen/
On Feb 14, 2007, at 8:19 AM, Frank Lee wrote:
Dear all,
Thanks a lot for all the feedbacks on AKTA prime. They are so
helpful that I have abandoned the idea of buying one. Now it is a
choice between AKTA FPLC and Bio-rad DuoFlow. I heard that DuoFlow
is not as robust as AKTA and that its parts break down often. The
question is whether quality difference is worth price difference (~
$10K). Any feebacks on DuoFlow would be highly appreciated!
Best,
Frank
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************************************
Bil Clemons, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Caltech
157 Broad Center
MC 114-96
Pasadena, CA 91125
(626) 395-1796
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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