US-based Millipore Corporation has launched the first laboratory water purification system for the clinical diagnostic market that removes alkaline phosphatase (ALP).
By using an Elix Clinical system with a BioPak final filter, clinical chemists and analyser operators can obtain significantly higher levels of performance for immunoassays, the company claims. The proliferation of bacterial species in pure water can create interferences because of bacterial ALP released.
Compared with standard clinical feedwater sources, the combination of the BioPak filter on an Elix Clinical system effectively removes ALP from purified water. This ultrafiltration method stabilises baselines and reduces the frequency of calibrations. For the clinical chemist, this increases efficiency and reduces downtime. For the medical technologist, this decreases sanitisation costs that generate more stabilised assay results.
The Elix Clinical system's design combines prefiltration, softening, reverse osmosis (RO), electrodeionisation (EDI), polishing and microfiltration in one package. The new systems produce water at flow rates of 35 and 70 litres/h. The BioPak disposable ultrafiltration cartridge dispenses ultrapure water for up to three months without a loss of flow rate.