Inside Instrumentation

Varian Debuts Chromatographs

(1) Varian has launched liquid chromatographs for the analytical and semipreparative markets. The 920-LC offers "fast LC" capabilities when combined with short columns. The system is available with programmable dual-wavelength or full-spectrum diode array ultraviolet-visible detectors. The 940-LC can be used for analytical HPLC or for larger scale semipreparative HPLC. The user can switch from analytical to semiprep flow rates without changing plumbing or configuration. In addition, Varian has introduced a new family of Pursuit Fast LC columns intended for use in pharmaceutical and environmental labs.

Illumina Plans Reorganization

Illumina, a developer of tools for analyzing genetic variation and biological function, is reorganizing. The San Diego-based company will divide its operations into life sciences and diagnostics units. The life sciences unit will be responsible for research-related products and services, including the BeadArray, BeadXpress, and Sequencing product lines. The other unit will focus on developing product opportunities in molecular diagnostics. The reorganization brings several management changes. Among them, John Stuelpnagel, who helped create Illumina in 1998, will step down as chief operating officer, effective April 1.

Flow Cytometer Gets An Update

(2) Beckman Coulter has upgraded its Quanta SC flow cytometer by integrating it with a robotic arm and other peripheral devices for high-throughput cellular analysis for applications in drug discovery and development. The Quanta SC MPL (multiplatform loader) handles samples in both plates and tubes. The system can analyze a sample in as little as 30 seconds.

WHIPping Out Raman Movies

ChemImage has introduced the Wide-field Hyperspectral Imaging Platform (WHIP) for its Falcon II and Condor chemical imaging systems. This technology, which includes hardware and software updates, allows users to obtain Raman movies for analyzing materials in motion and reactions in real time. Chemical imaging is often restricted to static images because the narrow field of view prohibits generation of full images while samples undergo a change.

Bruker To Buy Elemental Analysis company

Bruker AXS, part of Bruker BioSciences, will acquire privately held JUWE Laborgeraete GmbH from its founders. Viersen, Germany-based JUWE develops combustion analysis (CA) systems for various C, H, N, O, and S elemental analysis applications. It was formed in 1997 by two engineers, Erwin Jung and Karl-Josef Weifels, helped by former colleagues from the German company Strohlein, which was created in 1892 and shut down in 1997. The market for CA technologies was about $150 million in 2007, and JUWE had estimated revenues of $3 million.

FEI, an instrument company based in Hillsboro, Ore., and the Netherlands-based Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM) will jointly develop advanced electron microscopes and focused ion beam systems for single-atom imaging and processing of material structures. The partners will also work to better understand interactions between electron beams, ion beams, laser light, and matter. The five-year, $4 million program will use FEI instruments and be conducted at Dutch universities in Delft and Eindhoven, FEI labs in the Netherlands and U.S., and the FOM Institute for Atomic & Molecular Physics. FOM sponsors these Industrial Partnership Programs to link academic and industrial research and realize specific commercial goals. FOM and FEI believe their results will benefit a range of industries including microelectronics, chemistry, catalysis, biosciences, and pharmaceuticals.

(3) Fluxion Bioscience has introduced the BioFlux 200 system. This microfluidic system allows high-throughput live-cell imaging for applications such as adhesion and microbial biofilm studies. The system controls the shear flow to simulate in vivo physiological conditions better than current approaches. It uses presterilized plates that have the fluidics integrated in the bottom, eliminating some of the washing and sterilizing steps often used with flow-cell devices.