With its offerings of several different types of light-scattering instruments, as well as a service to demonstrate how to use these instruments, Wyatt Technology aims to equip its customers with comprehensive particle characterization information about their samples. The company offers dynamic light-scattering instruments, such as the DynaPro NanoStar, which measures small volumes of proteins; the ViscoStar viscometer, which measures intrinsic viscosity and Mark-Houwink-Sakurada parameters of polymers; and the DAWN line of multi-angle laser light scattering (MALS) instruments, which determine the absolute macromolecular masses and average sizes of molecules in solution. The sensitivity of MALS instruments makes them useful for detecting aggregation, which can hinder protein therapy development. The different systems Wyatt offers give its customers a thorough picture of their samples. “Each instrument reveals a different part of a molecular puzzle,” Wyatt President Geofrey Wyatt told IBO. “The more you know about what it is you’re developing, the more intelligently you can engineer new products.” The company’s customers fall into several different categories, including biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, academic research and government research.

Mr. Wyatt’s father, Dr. Philip Wyatt, who founded the company in 1982, owns more than 20 light-scattering patents, including one for software program ASTRA. “No other software packages, of which we’re aware, report the uncertainties of measurement,” Mr. Wyatt said. “Uncertainties are important because they give you a sense of how accurate your measurement is.” For example, someone measuring a molecule may be able to determine that the molecule weighs X but not know how accurate the measurement of X is. “If there’s a large uncertainty, it means that there are a lot of variables that need to be tied down better,” he said. “Measurements probably need to be made more carefully.”

Mr. Wyatt admits that it is an ongoing challenge to remain competitive with larger vendors. However, being a small, privately owned and operated company provides some advantages, mainly the ability to focus on customers, he explained. He added that by going a step beyond customer satisfaction to personalize interactions, customers want to continue to do business with the company. One way in which Wyatt personalizes interactions is with its Light-Scattering University (LSU), a training course that 15 to 20 customers attend every month to learn how to use the instruments. “We really want to demystify light scattering,” he told IBO. “As scientific and sophisticated as it is, we want people to know that they don’t need to be afraid.”

Every US customer who purchases a Wyatt instrument can attend the course free of charge, where they meet the people involved with all aspects of the instrument, from those who build it to those who design the software to those who provide support. Mr. Wyatt, along with his brother, Cliff, personally chauffeurs attendees to and from the course. “By meeting everybody face to face, there’s less impediment to having them pick up the phone and ask for somebody to help them out,” Mr. Wyatt said.