![\"UV](\"https:\/\/phoseon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/KeyPro-Water-Cooled-1024x509.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA Bright Idea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in 2002, Phoseon started supplying UV LEDs that were optimized for industrial curing the cross-linking of polymer chains in adhesives and coatings. Then Phoseon decided to use its core technology to bring the power, stability, and control that set it apart in the industrial application to life sciences. The apparent foray into the life sciences, which officially began in 2017, was actually the culmination of preparatory and analytical work that stretched back to 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although industrial curing and the life sciences are very different, they both stand to benefit from progress in UV technology. Traditional UV technologies rely on xenon, halogen, mercury, or deuterium light sources. Those sources are relatively slow for decontamination and generate excessive heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe UV lamps spark, and their output degrades over time,\u201d says Chad Taggard, vice president and general manager of Phoseon\u2019s life sciences division. \u201cThey also require high voltage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Many of the limitations of UV lamps can be overcome by UV LEDs, which are built on solid-state electronics and provide long-term consistency. \u201cIntensity is the same from minute to minute, and from year to year,\u201d notes Jay Pasquantonio, Phoseon\u2019s strategy director. \u201cIt\u2019s the same years later as it was on the first day. That\u2019s important when you think about repeatability of process. We can provide more power in terms of UV intensity than anyone else, along with control and stability.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Specifically, he says, Phoseon\u2019s solid-state Semiconductor Light Matrix (SLM\u2122) technology offers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUV LED disinfection is much faster than other approaches,\u201d Pasquantonio asserts, pointing out that some items can be disinfected within a few minutes versus the 30 or more the same disinfection would take with other technologies. \u201cIf we can make the lab workflow more productive, that\u2019s a win for our customers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Additionally, tunable wavelengths enhance capabilities. For instance, the Phoseon\u2019s KeyView solid-state detectors for chromatography cover wavelengths of 210 to 800 nm, while new, deep UV technologies enable wavelengths of 215 nm and 220 nm to be used for protein and elemental analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Innovating at UV Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Phoseon has developed a culture of continuous innovation. The company encourages its scientists, engineers, and managers to embrace unrelenting change, and to anticipate customers\u2019 needs for better and faster products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe tend to be faster than our customers,\u201d Taggard observes. \u201cWe have a disruptive technology, and we move quickly to deliver solutions into the market. We want to go faster and faster.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Phoseon, impatient with the market\u2019s seeming \u201cparalysis by analysis,\u201d decided to launch its KeyPro decontamination system last March, well ahead of schedule. (KeyPro enables RNA researchers and lab managers to decontaminate equipment after adding reagents and just before adding sample.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrankly, we typically move quicker than internal development teams,\u201d Taggard declares. \u201cThat means we can be more than a supplier. We can be an extension of a customer\u2019s R&D team. When a customer embraces that model, we can help them get a product to market faster. With KeyPro, we knew we could finish the project quickly and make it available to both companies and end users, so we said, \u2018Let\u2019s do it!\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s Phoseon Inside<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the KeyPro and a handful of other solutions are designed for end users, most Phoseon light sources are sold as subsystems to OEMs throughout the world. \u201cDevelopment is a two-pronged approach,\u201d states Taggard. The company\u2019s engineers and scientists are focused on exploring the physical, chemical, and biological interactions of light, and are wholly focused on LEDs. The goal is to continuously exceed preconceived limits of power, stability, sensitivity, and miniaturization, and to enhance the utility of the UV LED as a light source.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When Phoseon works with a client, Phoseon staff members work closely with their client-based counterparts. \u201cWe synchronize our system with the OEM\u2019s system, run experiments to provide efficacy data, and have our engineers work closely with the OEM\u2019s engineers,\u201d Taggard explains. Later, Phoseon ensures that it has the information that the OEM\u2019s marketing team will need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phoseon also gets input from end users. \u201cThere are a lot of things a UV LED can do,\u201d Taggard remarks. \u201cIt becomes a flywheel of what\u2019s possible\u201d as customers become interested in expanding applications for a solution, and then continue to do more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of an expanding UV LED application is sterilization. In the United States, most surgical tools are disposable, but in Europe, single-use instruments are discouraged. When instruments are reused, reprocessing technologies need to be thorough without impairing instrument function. Ultraviolet disinfection is a reprocessing technology that delivers a shorter turnaround time than chemical and heat methods can achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UV-C technology is another example. Besides being effective at disinfection, UV-C can detect and modify biological molecules. This autofluorescence capability makes it useful in highly specialized imaging. Eventually, it may be used for bedside diagnostics to identify disease states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur goals are pretty simple,\u201d Taggard says. \u201cWe\u2019re growing very fast, and we want that to continue.\u201d The greatest challenge in that regard, as with any disruptive technology, is overcoming market inertia. While potential customers and their end users acknowledge the benefits of this approach to disinfection, sterilization, decontamination, and chromatography, it takes time for OEMs to incorporate UV LED technology into their products. Eventually, that challenge will expand to diagnostics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Using the Phoseon UV LED technology, researchers inactivitated the pervasive contaminant RNase A, thus providing an alternative to chemical or thermal decontamination.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.genengnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Phoseon_KeyPro_SavesTimeMoney_chart7851449641.jpg\")
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Because Phoseon\u2019s decontamination technology works in only a few minutes and leaves no residue, researchers save considerable time and money.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.genengnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Phoseon_PipettingInLab5287201001.jpg\")
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The KeyPro decontamination system lets users decontaminate equipment just before adding the sample, reducing the opportunity for contamination.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n