Story Time with Dr. Amitabha Sarkar

May we introduce

Kathryn Keller, BSc & Amitabha Sarkar, PhD

Kilobaser customer USA

With a bachelor’s degree in biochemical engineering and biotechnology, a master’s degree in chemical engineering, a Ph.D. in materials engineering, and 3 years working as a software engineer, he now works as a research engineer at MatMaCorp, USA.

We asked Amitabha what a typical day in the research lab at MatMaCorp looks like:

“I review results from previous day and plan the tasks that need to be done for the day with my lab assistant. I also plan for the week, and quarter. Our experiments typically revolve around cell culture, protein purification, downstream processing, and assaying of the enzymes produced.”

He goes on to tell us how Kilobaser DNA Synthesizer improves his daily workflow:

“For us, Kilobaser is good for quickly identifying primers and labeled probes (Taqman probes for us).
The frequency of use is somewhat erratic, but I’d say a few times a month on the average (less than or equal to 5). We use Kilobaser for prototyping a concept. The scale of production is so low, that we cannot fit the Kilobaser into a conventional workflow.
The Kilobaser is amazing in [terms of simple workflow]. It is very easy to use. I needed some help to set it up, but thanks to Sanel [Kilobaser After Sales Manager] we were up and running really quickly.”

When asked what prompted MatMaCorp to synthesize DNA itself, he reports:

“During the COVID crisis we realized that it was important to have an oligo synthesizer available in house. I didn’t even know about the Kilobaser. Someone had ordered it and I got it. Getting it delivered to my lab was a really nice surprise 😊

[The set-up] was really easy. Sanel’s help in the process is much appreciated.

I had seen people use DNA synthesizer since 1997, but I had never had the chance to actually use one. This was a great opportunity for me.”

Of course, we also wanted to know what we could improve on our Kilobaser one-XT:

“I’ve had a few colleagues express interest in the Kilobaser. However, they (and me) wish for a higher yield per run. A typical oligo synthesis run gives me enough for 8 reactions. We typically use multiple of 8 reactions per day.”

Final conclusion?

“I like our Kilobaser. It’s easy to use and does its job.”

We say THANK YOU for this great and honest report and for your time, Amitabha. We wish you continuing success in your work and research!

If you too would like to tell us your story, please feel free to send an email to [email protected]