Inside Instrumentation

Bruker offers bigger magnet, MRI probe

Bruker Biospin is offering a new, actively shielded, 22.3-tesla superconducting magnet for NMR spectrometry. Combined with a spectrometer, the system has a footprint of less than 600 sq ft, compared with 3,600 sq ft for an unshielded system with a large stray magnetic field. The new magnet, which operates at a 950-MHz proton resonance frequency, surpasses the company's existing 900-MHz model by offering higher sensitivity with the same cryostat size and cryogenic performance but costs $1.95 million more. The company's line of cryogenically cooled NMR probes is compatible with the new magnet. Separately, Bruker has developed a new cryoprobe for in vivo animal magnetic resonance imaging at 9.4 tesla. With the new cryoprobe, MRI studies of the mouse brain have, for example, shown improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio of about 100% and a reduction in scan time by a factor of four.

New products work with ChemStation

Both Mettler Toledo and ESA Biosciences have announced products that interface with Agilent Technologies' ChemStation chromatography software application. Mettler Toledo has developed a Berger supercritical fluid chromatography system that integrates with ChemStation as a complement to liquid chromatography and LC-mass spectrometry systems. Meanwhile, ESA says its Corona charged-aerosol and Coulochem III high-performance LC detectors can now be interfaced via a standard USB connection. The new interface allows the detectors to be controlled and used for direct digital data acquisition with ChemStation.

Thermo introduces X-ray instruments

Thermo Electron has announced new X-ray fluorescence instruments, the ARL Advant'x series (shown). These wavelength-dispersive instruments are available in three power levels, ranging from 1,200 to 4,200 W, and can be configured to analyze elements ranging from beryllium to uranium. The instruments can be equipped with different goniometers, depending on the analytical range and flexibility needs.

Companies buy genomics firms

Applied Biosystems Inc. has agreed to pay about $120 million in cash to purchase Agencourt Personal Genomics, a privately held developer of technologies for genetic analysis. ABI will gain Agencourt's massively parallel fluorescence sequencing by stepwise-ligation technology, an extremely high-throughput approach to DNA/RNA analysis. ABI anticipates having systems using the technology available in 2007. Separately, PerkinElmer has acquired Spectral Genomics for an undisclosed amount. Spectral Genomics develops array products and software for molecular karyotyping. The approach uses comparative DNA hybridization to identify and evaluate chromosomal abnormalities related to cancer and pre- and postnatal genetic disorders.