Proterion is best known for its DynaPro (Protein Solutions) range, which is used to analyse the behaviour of biomolecules such as proteins in solution.
The DynaPro made biomolecular characterisation by dynamic light scattering easier and affordable compared to earlier costly, complex, and cumbersome instrumentation used to measure parameters such as the hydrodynamic radius and polydispersity of macromolecules. It is claimed to be the most sensitive commercially available DLS instrument with the smallest sample volume (2 microliters).
Proterion's products, of which there are more than 1,000 installed systems worldwide, will now be handled by Wyatt. A Proterion manufacturing facility in High Wycombe, UK, as well as assets from the New Jersey offices of Proterion will be transferred to Wyatt's headquarters in Santa Barbara, California. Several staff from the UK and New Jersey are also expected to join Wyatt.
European expansion
Meanwhile, Wyatt has opened a new French office, headquartered in Toulouse, as part of a European expansion.
The US company said it now has full time staff already employed in the UK, Germany, and France, detailing its products to customers in the pjharmaceutical, biotech and other industries.
With the new office, Wyatt is hoping to drive European sales of its multi-angle light scattering (MALS) instruments.
The French office will be managed by Nicolas Mignard and will handle sales of the entire MALS range, which includes: the Optilab rEX refractive index detector, which won an award at Pittcon earlier this year and represents the first new RI technology to reach the market in 40 years; the ViscoStar viscometer; Wyatt's new Eclipse field flow fraction system for separating nanoparticles and macromolecules; and the recently-launched Astra V software, claimed to be the most comprehensive multi-detector macromolecular characterisation package on the market.
Mignard said the opening of Wyatt France marks the first step in a stronger support network for both existing and our new customers in 2005.