Key Organics Expands Capabilities with New State-of-the-Art Facility and Purification Techniques

Key Organics, a Cornwall-based contract research organization (CRO), has extensive expertise in synthetic organic chemistry. Established in 1986, the company has been a frontrunner in providing custom and contract services, as well as a large catalogue of high-quality research compound products under their BIONET brand. The collection currently contains over 300,000 compounds, including intermediates, fragment libraries, biochemicals, and screening compounds.

The company’s diverse customer base spans large pharmaceutical and agrochemical companies to mid-sized biotechnology firms and virtual enterprises, as well as academic groups and startups. Recently, Key Organics inaugurated a state-of-the-art facility at their Camelford site, aimed at expanding their capacity to assist a broader clientele with development and scale-up projects.

Key Organics has opened a cutting-edge facility at their Camelford site, expanding their capacity to support more clients with development and scale-up projects.

“We work all the way from milligram to kilogram-scale, using purification techniques appropriate to the scale and chemistry undertaken, and the impurities we are trying to separate our desired material from,” says Steve Brough, Commercial Manager at Key Organics.

Their purification approach covers a wide spectrum, including simple trituration, recrystallisation, column chromatography, distillation (fractionating and wiped-film), preparative liquid chromatography (LC), and preparative thin-layer chromatography (TLC). They also use scavenger resins and catch-and-release columns.

Steve Brough, Commercial Manager at Key Organics, a Cornwall-based contract research organization.

“Column chromatography also allows us to purify compounds on a wide range of scales. The Biotage® Isolera™ flash purification systems minimize the amount of solvent used, saving solvent and waste costs and reducing our environmental impact. The range of silica available is also advantageous. Biotage® Sfär Silica HC D allows increased loading over conventional, further lowering and enhancing environmental sustainability. Amino D silica, works well with basic, organic amine compounds, making chromatography of these compounds easier.”

Biotage® Flash 150 flash chromatography system

Key Organics has implemented Biotage® Flash 75 and Biotage® Flash 150 flash chromatography systems to allow the purification of larger amounts without the need for multiple runs. This brings more flexibility to their processes.

“There is no difference to the smaller Biotage systems and columns. The main advantage is that the system is a lot quicker. Once the method has been established, small-scale experiments can be completed much faster than with traditional glass columns. Previously, the team used glass columns on a smaller scale, which was time-consuming and not as accurate, as it is impossible to pack glass columns to the same standard as the pre-packed Biotage cartridges.”

With these advancements, Key Organics continues to enhance its service offerings, providing efficient and scalable solutions for their diverse clientele.