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Analytical Chemistry

Inside Instrumentation

Technology and Business news for the laboratory world

by Celia H. Arnaud and Ann M. Thayer
August 27, 2007 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 85, Issue 35

Beckman introduces integrated robotics

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Credit: Beckman Coulter
Credit: Beckman Coulter

(1) Beckman Coulter has announced its integrated industrial robotics solutions for high-throughput pharmaceutical and biotech applications. The Motoman HP3JC Robot, manufactured by Yaskawa Electric, is the heart of the system and can be customized to include various Beckman liquid handlers and detectors. "A good number of pharmaceutical and biotech customers are graduating from using islands of automation to full-process automation, which requires the integration of many devices at a high-throughput level," says Marc A. Goldstein, product platform manager at Beckman.

Analogix offers better flash system

Analogix, Burlington, Wis., has developed an automated system for flash chromatography called the IntelliFlash 310. They designed the discovery-scale purification system for increased efficiency by including an instant-on lamp that requires no warm-up time, uninterrupted solvent supply, multiple UV-wavelength detection, and multicolumn capability. And at 72 × 32 × 49 cm, it economizes on space within fume hoods.

Nikon debuts universal microscope

Nikon Instruments has introduced the LV-UDM universal design microscope, which can easily crossover between academic and industrial use. The multifunctional microscope supports both routine and R&D applications, using a variety of transmitted or reflected light observation techniques and different objective lenses in a motorized nosepiece. It can accommodate many different specimen types, ranging from thinly sliced biological tissues to larger three-dimensional industrial samples. The LV-UDM also allows for digital image capture and image processing.

Bruker launches crystallography system

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Credit: Business Wire
Credit: Business Wire

(2) Bruker has introduced the APEX DUO, a single-crystal X-ray diffractometer that features instantaneous and automated wavelength change. The instrument combines two X-ray sources-a copper microfocus tube and a standard molybdenum sealed tube-that can be run with one source in operation and the other in standby, allowing for unattended wavelength switching controlled by the system's software. The copper source is up to twice as intense as standard copper tubes, resulting in faster experiments and better data quality. The first APEX DUO has been installed at the Indiana University Molecular Structure Center.

JEOL unveils NMR spectrometer

JEOL has introduced the ECS-400 nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, which features the Jastec 400 MHz Super Self-Shielded superconducting magnet. The compact system is fully automated and "cyber-enabled," meaning that multiple users can collect and receive data at any authorized computer connected to a network. The system also includes new probe technology that improves detection limits and reduces measurement time.

Companies expand DNA microarray collaborations

Illumina will collaborate with three partners to develop a customized genotyping array for diagnosing vascular diseases. It is working with the Institute of Translational Medicine & Therapeutics at the University of Pennsylvania, the Broad Institute, and the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute's Candidate-gene Association Resource Consortium. The microarray will include more than 55,000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or genetic changes, in about 2,100 genes believed to underpin vascular disease processes, such as blood pressure, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, insulin resistance, metabolic disorders, dyslipidemia (changes in lipid levels), and inflammation. At the work's completion, more than 120,000 samples from large population studies and clinical trials will be analyzed for genetic links to vascular disease. Separately, the Department of Defense has awarded a one-year, $2.2 million contract to CombiMatrix to further develop its semiconductor-based microarray technology for detecting multiple pathogens and chemical agents. It uses chip-based electrochemical detection rather than less portable, more expensive, and more complex optical methods.

Inside Instrumentation is written by Celia H. Arnaud and Ann M. Thayer. Contact them via e-mail to instrumentation@acs.org.

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