A&D Balances and Pipette Kits Create Streamlined Process for Katayama Chemical Industries

THE COMPANY:

Since its inception one hundred years ago, Katayama Chemical Industries has been producing chemicals centered on reagents. Their technology is used in fields such as preventive medicine, environmental analysis and research in biotechnology. In particular, Katayama promotes their biotechnology reagents to academic research organizations, including GLYCOLIPO™, a molecular imaging reagent, which mimics white blood cells and gives liposome directional characteristics by altering the surface of the liposome with various recognition probes, such as antibodies and sugar chains.  Various substances can then be enclosed inside the liposome, making it a tool for bio-imaging and a carrier for drug transport.  
 

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE: 

In the nanoworld occupied by GLYCOLIPO™, Katayama Chemical Industries found that they needed a pipette accuracy tester, a leak tester, and high-precision analytical balances to accurately manage and measure throughout their processes.  

Additionally, their operators, while they were extremely careful, were spending a considerable amount of time testing pipette accuracy, and they needed a better solution that would also allow them to become more efficient and report on the results in a more streamlined fashion. 

THE SOLUTION:

Katayama Chemical Industries consulted with an A&D Weighing expert who was familiar with their workflows and the needs in their industry.  Katayama then started using the BM-014 pipette accuracy testing kit and AD-1690 leak tester.  Katayama also integrated the Ion Series BM-252 precision analytical balance into their processes due to its 250g capacity, fanless ionizer to remove static electricity, and its internal calibration feature, plus the AD-1671 anti-vibration table to perform accurate measurements.

THE RESULTS:

Katayama Chemical Industry was so impressed with the results that Takaaki Otani, R&D Manager, and his R&D team, Yasunori Yamashita, Yuki Sugihara, and Yui Hiramatsuv, sat down with us for an interview.  

According to Sugihara, their lab has more than 20 small capacity pipettes, which are especially difficult to handle and require extreme care when testing accuracy.  For this reason, Otani says that the operators reported that the accuracy and leak testing kits made periodic checks “much easier” and “more convenient for daily checks.” 

While using the Ion BM balance, the operators were particularly impressed that the software allowed for the setting of acceptability criteria.  Yuri Hiramatsu of the R&D team says, “Even our new employees make almost no errors now. If only we had such a useful tool like this earlier.”

The R&D team is now happy to use the Ion BM balance to inspect pipettes as a part of the production process, making accuracy management easier and more efficient.  

With the new devices in place, Katayama Chemical Industries is now poised to serve its clients’ research and development processes in the rapidly-evolving life science field and compete on a global scale.