Inside Instrumentation

(1) Thermo Offers Upgrade Program

Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced a trade-up program for current users of single-quadrupole and ion-trap mass spectrometers. Scientists can trade in their old mass spectrometer from any manufacturer and receive either a free electron-transfer-dissociation upgrade with the purchase of a Thermo Scientific LTQ XL or LTQ Velos or up to 30% off the price of select configurations of linear ion-trap mass spectrometers.

Millipore And Roka Form Collaboration

Millipore and Roka Bioscience will work together to create molecular assays and portable instruments for biopharmaceutical production. The nucleic acid testing firm Gen-Probe recently spun off its industrial testing assets to create Roka as a separate company in which it kept a 20% stake and sold the rest to private investors. Working to develop tests for contaminants commonly found in pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing processes, Millipore and Gen-Probe have been partners since 2005. Last year, they launched the MilliPROBE system, based on real-time transcription-mediated amplification technology, for microbial screening and have one assay on the market for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and another for Mycoplasma to be introduced early next year.

Agilent Partners With Chinese Institutes

Agilent is teaming up with the Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to launch the SIBS-Agilent Center for Systems Biology in Shanghai. The center will focus on genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to identify biomarkers that can improve the understanding of diseases. The center is equipped with Agilent’s chromatography, mass spectrometry, and microarray technologies. “Agilent not only provides us with the technology tools, but we also look forward to close interaction with their scientists and the life science community in China,” says Wu Jiarui, vice president of SIBS.

(2) PerkinElmer Debuts Hyphenated System

PerkinElmer has introduced a system that joins differential scanning calorimetry with Raman spectroscopy. The system combines the DSC 8500 with the RamanStation 400 spectrometer, making it easier for researchers to obtain chemical and structural information from Raman and correlate it with thermal analysis. The company is targeting pharmaceutical and polymer applications.

Bruker And Philips To Advance Imaging

Bruker BioSpin and Royal Philips Electronics, in the Netherlands, have agreed to jointly develop magnetic particle imaging (MPI) scanners for the preclinical market. Philips scientists developed the technology, which creates three-dimensional images of the concentration of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles injected into the bloodstream. The companies envision the technology finding use in disease studies and drug-related research. Bruker will manufacture the MPI scanner at its facilities in Ettlingen, Germany. Both parties plan to market the instrument.

Roche Offers Nucleic Acid Purification Unit

Roche Applied Science has launched the MagNA Pure 96 system for use in high-throughput laboratories. Based on glass-magnetic-particle technology, the automated nucleic acid purification system can process 96 samples in parallel in less than one hour for standard applications. DNA, RNA, and viral nucleic acids can be isolated from research sample materials such as mammalian whole blood, cells, plasma, serum, or tissue. Depending on yield and sensitivity requirements, sample input volumes can range from 50 to 1,000 µL. Roche also offers prefilled reagent kits and disposables to help rapid setup of purification runs. The company expects to ship the first 20 systems this month.

(3) SFC Fluidics To Develop Brain Diagnostic

SFC Fluidics, based in Fayetteville, Ark., has received a contract for approximately $5 million from the U.S. Army to develop a handheld device for first responders to use in diagnosing traumatic brain injury. The device conducts blood analysis to quantify biomarkers that are released by the brain when injured. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin in the summer of 2013.