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Recombinant Products Facility (RPF)

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RPF laboratory detail photo of someone adding liquid to a fermenter tank

Who we are

The Recombinant Products Facility (RPF) is a dedicated team of experts who specialise in the production, purification and characterisation of proteins and other biologics, offering essential services for academic and industry researchers.

The projects we work on cater to a wide range of applications - diagnostics, therapeutics, drug screening, biomaterials. We have the capability to produce and purify materials for research purposes, extending up to the pre-clinical stage.

Accreditation

Our facility is accredited to the ISO/ 9001:2015 standard by SAI Global. We adhere to a quality management system and conduct contract work in strict compliance with ISO 9001 standards.

Our expertise

Protein/biologics production and purification pipeline

Our services


What our clients & collaborators have to say

Very professional group with great technical knowledge and clear communication. The team at ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç RPF provide a great service backed by extensive expertise. Results are delivered in timely manner, and there is transparency as to how the assays are conducted. I would work with them again.


-ÌýDr Sharon Cunningham, Process Development Analytics Lead - WMF

We engaged RPF to scale our fermentation from bench to 20L. ±áé±ôè²Ô±ð and Chris offered invaluable support on scale-up, fermentation optimisation, and cost-effective strategies for building larger systems. Validating our process at RPF not only built investor confidence but also enabled us to expand our in-house fermentation to 250L pilot scale.

- Dr Kerstin Petroll, CTO/Co-Founder HydGene Renewables

RPF goes above and beyond to deliver on contracted projects, always striving to deliver the best possible service and results. Over the years, we have had a very successful project, and a project plagued with issues, and in both, RPF worked endlessly to bring us the desired result or troubleshoot the problems.


- Dr Ross Hamilton, Senior Research Biologist - Syntara Ltd

A smart and dedicated team with a high level of technical excellence. We have been able to obtain well diffracting crystals from many of the samples they have prepared which is a good indication that the team is doing a great job. We plan to work with them again on future projects.



- Dr Tom Peat, ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç School of Biotech & Biomolecular Science

The service is always above expectations, from the reception of the constructs to the delivery of the proteins. The team is very professional, extremely knowledgeable and flexible. ±áé±ôè²Ô±ð gave us constant feedback - so we did quality control as we moved along. This made an incredible difference for us in the end.

- Dr Yann Gambin, EMBL Australia Group Leader - InteracTeam, ºÚÁÏÍø´óʼÇ

The RPF course offered a comprehensive training in the downstream purification process through both scientific theory and practice -Ìýwith hands-on depth filtration, chromatography, and TFF. Each step helped to clarify the rationale behind processing decisions, workflows, equipment selection, sizing, and optimisation. 


-ÌýSteven Jacovou, Director Biotech Manufacturing Facility - CSL Behring

Huge thank you to the whole team for putting together such a high quality course. Clear and detailed explanations in the theoretical sessions translated into well designed, hands-on practical experience in the lab. The preparation that went into the training was exceptional, and the staff were highly approachable, engaged and knowledgeable.

- Michelle Huang, Scientist at ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç RNA Institute


Our people

Helene Lebhar RPF staff headshot
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Portrait of RPF staff member Chris Marquis
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Leanne Stephenson staff headshot RPF
Quality Manager

Access & fees

  • Staff and students from ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç and affiliated institutes can become Registered Users of the RPF and are charged subsidised rates to use the equipment in our facility. Our access protocol is listed below.

    • Contact us to schedule an initial meeting with the RPF team. During this meeting, we'll discuss your project and how we can assist you.

      ºÚÁÏÍø´óʼÇ-subsidised fees apply to ºÚÁÏÍø´óʼÇ-funded projects only. Projects funded by external institutions and industry will be charged a higher rate (+ GST).

      • Contracting Work Services

      After the meeting, we will provide a detailed quote and scope tailored to your bioprocessing needs.

      No client access to the lab is required for contracting work. Our staff will execute the project according to the scope from start to finish.

      • Training Services

      We will assess your needs and develop a customised training plan. Whether you’re a beginner seeking comprehensive guidance across the bioprocess pipeline or an experienced user requiring specific equipment training, we offer support at all stages of protein and biologics production and purification.

    • If you are internal and need to be trained to access equipment, you can do so by following the steps described here. We will schedule an induction session for you to gain swipe card access to the laboratory. Following this, a training session will be arranged. 

    • After completing training and demonstrating proficiency with a specific instrument, you’ll gain access to our online booking system for this specific instrument and operate it with complete autonomy.

  • Please contact us for a free initial meeting with our expert team to identify your project's needs and provide information about our pricing.

    • Our full-service contracting capabilities encompass all aspects of protein and biologic production and purification, from expression testing and fermentation to mid-stream and downstream processing (purification), including characterisation and stability studies.

      Following the initial meeting, we will provide a quote with a detailed project scope tailored to your bioprocessing needs.

      Milestone-based approach
      To ensure efficiency and minimise unnecessary expenses, we can structure projects into milestones. This approach ensures flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and a focus on your specific project needs. Below is an example of a project articulated in three milestones:

      1. Protein expression assessment in bacteria
        Confirm expression of the protein in the soluble fraction from a 1 L culture.
      2. Small-scale purification
        Use the material from the 1 L culture for initial purification.
      3. Scaled-up production
        Based on the results of the previous milestones, design a scale up production if a larger amount of protein is required to reach your quantity target.

      Funding available
      (NSW only)

    • A range of short courses are being developed for industry and will be available shortly on our training page.

      Contact us if you have specific training needs not covered by our short courses and we can help to develop a unique course for your team.

Contact us

Recombinant Products Facility

Room 320B, Level 3
Biological Sciences North (D26)
ºÚÁÏÍø´óÊÂ¼Ç Sydney, NSW 2033

Phone: 02 9065 63792
·¡³¾²¹¾±±ô:Ìýh.lebhar@unsw.edu.au

We like to hear from you. If you have questions, requests or ideas for collaboration, please complete the contact form and we will be in touch within five business days.

Get in touch about your project

We collaborate with a diverse range of researchers and projects, spanning fundamental research, pre-clinical studies, and partnerships across academia and industry.