Inside Instrumentation

Roche, Applera settle PCR dispute

Roche Diagnostics and Applera, parent of Applied Biosystems, have settled their litigation and have agreed to expand their polymerase chain reaction technology licensing program. Although its foundational PCR patents recently expired in the U.S., Roche has more than 800 related patents and applications. Applied Biosystems will be the sole licensor of Roche patents covering reagents and methods for practicing PCR in life sciences research and applied fields. Separately, in settling the litigation, the companies have granted each other licenses pertinent to commercializing PCR-based products and instruments in research and diagnostic areas. This arrangement will allow Roche, under certain conditions, to manufacture PCR instruments for a third party. In other similar litigation, Stratagene has countersued Third Wave Technologies; the two companies are disputing technology rights relevant to the quantitative detection of nucleic acids. Stratagene, a licensee of Applied Biosystems, is itself being sued by Applera for infringing a patent on PCR instruments.

Finding biomarkers via mass spec

Applied Biosystems and MDS Sciex have introduced a new mass spectrometer for the discovery of protein biomarkers, the 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF Analyzer. The new instrument is 10 times more sensitive than existing commercial systems, according to the companies. The increased sensitivity is achieved by combining the joint venture's TOF/TOF optics technology with the OptiBeam on-axis laser, which increases the number of ions directed into the ion path. The analyzer is fully compatible with reagents for protein quantitation.

Varian unveils expandable MRI

Varian has launched a new magnetic resonance imaging system for biomedical and materials science applications. The system incorporates the same data acquisition control platform as the company's recently released NMR system. Varian's DirectDrive architecture includes modular electronics and a digital receiver with improved spectral width, baseline response, and dynamic range compared with earlier technologies. The system initially offers up to four transmitter and eight receiver channels, but the parallel architecture allows expansion to include more channels. The scanner was designed to improve the rate of implementation of MRI experiments, promoting the use of MRI in a broader range of applications, including materials science.

Eksigent boosts HPLC capacity

Eksigent Technologies has added autosampling and software capabilities to double the throughput of its ExpressLC-800 high-performance liquid chromatography system. The HPLC system, with eight independent channels, is 10 times faster than a conventional system, allowing for analysis of high-throughput experiments conducted in multivessel systems. Using a Twin-PAL autosampler from CTC Analytics, the system can accept samples from either 2-mL vial or 96-well microplate formats.

New tools to screen proteins

Two Bruker companies have introduced new tools for protein analysis. Using an X-ray source with advanced multilayer optics and a fast ultrasensitive CCD detector, the X8 Prospector from Bruker AXS rapidly screens protein crystals to determine their diffraction quality prior to X-ray structure determination. In addition, Bruker Daltonics now offers an electron transfer dissociation (ETD) module for its high-capacity ion trap mass spectrometer, the HCTultra. ETD allows protein fragmentation that preserves information about posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation or glycosylation.

Agilent Technologies and PANalytical have expanded operations in China, an important and fast-growing market for their businesses. Agilent has opened the Life Sciences & Chemical Analysis (LSCA) Technical Training Center in Shanghai, located next to its three-year-old R&D manufacturing center. The new center will train industrial, academic, and government scientists--about 500 in the first year--across the Asia-Pacific region on measurement technologies used in food safety; life sciences; and environmental, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical testing. "Our goal is to help build the base of knowledge and skills throughout the region," says Chris van Ingen, president of Agilent's LSCA business. Meanwhile, PANalytical, a supplier of X-ray instrumentation and related software, has opened a regional application lab in Shanghai. It will develop analytical methods based on customer requirements and let existing and prospective customers assess the technologies available. The lab will coordinate with partner labs in Nanjing, Chengdu, Shenyang, Dalian, and Lanzhou.

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