Ziath reports how it has worked with the Hubrecht Institute (Utrecht, Netherlands) which has developed a pioneering automated test robot, called STRIP-1, which can process up to 20,000 samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing in just 24 hours. This makes it much faster than all other automated SARS-CoV-2 testing systems used to date. In addition, all samples can be tracked precisely because they have a 2D-barcode on the bottom of each tube that is scanned multiple times throughout the process....
LGC has expanded its innovative portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 quality solutions with the release of AccuPlex™ SARS-CoV-2 in Synthetic Oral Fluid reference material. The product is designed to support development and testing efforts around novel saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. It serves as an ideal research tool for assay developers as well as a complete quality solution for clinical laboratories employing such tests....
A UK biotech company developing a novel treatment for Covid-19 has welcomed NHS plans to make Covid-19 treatments available to patients as soon as possible. The CEO of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, recently highlighted the importance of therapeutic treatments to help the UK return to a more normal way of life, predicting that many of these treatments will be available to Covid-19 patients in 6 – 18 months....
Beckman Coulter, a global leader in clinical diagnostics, announce the launch of the DxH 560 AL, a tabletop analyser geared to reduce the time and resource constraints faced by small to mid-sized laboratories. With the analyser’s Auto-Loading functionality, closed tube aspiration and walkaway capabilities, users can continually add up to 50 samples, provide safety against blood-borne pathogens and spend less time on manual instrument tasks....
Asynt announce the DrySyn Illumin8 - a new, beautifully engineered, 8-position parallel photoreactor for research chemists. Based upon a modified version of Asynt’s popular DrySyn OCTO reactor, the DrySyn Illumin8 allows users to run up to 8 parallel photochemical reactions at a time in precision borosilicate tubes, up to 6 mL in volume. The unit mounts on a standard magnetic hotplate stirrer enabling powerful agitation and heating (up to 80 °C)...
Huber Kältemaschinenbau presents a cold trap for fast evaporation tasks in the laboratory. The Huber CT50 cold trap offers direct, rapid cooling to temperatures as low as -50°C as well as low operating costs. Its compact design takes up minimal space on the laboratory bench. Thanks to the natural refrigerant, the cold trap works in an environmentally friendly manner....
Cherwell Laboratories, specialist supplier of products for environmental monitoring and process validation, has drawn on its extensive pharmaceutical and related industry knowledge to publish an eBook titled, “Growth Promotion Testing: A Guide to Good Practices” which is available to download from Cherwell’s website. The guide is intended for anyone involved in growth promotion testing of microbiological media, providing an overview of key considerations and best practice for this key quality control (QC) test...
Developed in collaboration with DNA Genotek Inc., a subsidiary of OraSure Technologies, Inc. and a leading provider of biological sample collection, stabilization, and preparation products, the new large-volume protocol can process up to 4 ml of solution directly from an Oragene® 500 or 600 series collection devices in less than 2.5 hours. FlexSTAR workflows are fully automated instruments for isolating genomic DNA from large volumes of whole blood, buffy coats, saliva, cultured cells, PMBC’s and other samples...
BBI’s recently-acquired and well-respected team based in Freiburg, Germany (DIARECT GmbH) has developed two new recombinant antigen preparations produced in Baculovirus transfected Sf9 cells. The antigens Nucleocapsid (N) protein and Spike (S) glycoprotein Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) have been designed as critical raw materials for next generation serological assays....
Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents, announces that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bruker Corporation (Billerica, MA) (NASDAQ: BRKR, “Bruker”) to evaluate the Affimer-based, bead assisted mass spectrometry (“BAMS™”) SARS-CoV-2 assay, that the Group has developed with Adeptrix Inc. (Beverley, MA) (“Adeptrix”)...
In an international collaboration, researchers have characterized the first significant SARS-CoV-2 mutation,N439K, occurring within the virus’s spike protein receptor binding motif (RBM). The N439K mutation, which was originally discovered in the first half of 2020 and is considered to be one of the first important SARS-CoV-2 RBM mutations, because it occurred within the receptor binding domain (RBD) in the virus’s Spike protein that interacts with the human ACE2 receptor...
Apricot Designs has established a 30-year track record supporting increasingly complex and evolving laboratory research requirements with the design and manufacture of multichannel micro-volume pipettors and sample preparation devices. The acquisition allows SPT Labtech to strategically expand its range of liquid handling technologies as part of its broader portfolio of innovative automation solutions for drug discovery, structural biology, genomics, cryo-EM, sample management and biobanking.
Venomtech® – a leading UK-based biotechnology company founded in 2010 – is harnessing the power of natural venoms produced by animals to generate compound libraries that are used in drug discovery studies. With a collection of nearly 200 species, from spiders to scorpions and even centipedes to study, the team at Venomtech is using INTEGRA’s VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipette to increase efficiency in the production of venom-based screening assays....
Eppendorf and the journal Science are now accepting applications for the 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology. This annual international research prize of US$25,000 is awarded to young scientists for their outstanding contributions to neurobiological research based on methods of molecular and cell biology. Researchers who are not older than 35 years are invited to apply by June 15, 2021....
"Transforming R&D: Digital innovation in the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries," a new report by MIT Technology Review Insights, explores how leading pharmaceuticals and chemicals companies are using artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other digital technologies to transform scientific research and enhance R&D performance. The report, produced in association with PerkinElmer Informatics, is based on in-depth interviews with R&D executives at organizations including Novartis, Roche, Merck, BASF, and Syngenta....
On Tuesday January 12th, in Nature Communications, strong preclinical results for a new COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the team of Prof. Salanti from University of Copenhagen, ExpreS2ion Biotech, its joint venture partner AdaptVac and the PREVENT-nCoV consortium, was published. Based on these results, a clinical trial application (CTA) for a clinical Phase I/II study for the COVID-19 vaccine has been submitted....
Compact Airo Sensors from ViGIE were chosen by Pfizer to monitor the company’s facilities during Covid vaccine production, and to monitor temperatures for the critical transportation of the vaccine between Pfizer factories, distribution centres and hubs worldwide. It is widely known that the new vaccine, first approved for widespread use in the UK, must be kept at a very low temperature of minus 70°C during storage and shipping....
Porvair Sciences has launched a new second generation model of its Ultravap® Mistral - an automation-ready sample evaporator that offers throughput advantages to laboratories looking to optimise and accelerate sample preparation. Designed to remove the traditional laboratory ‘bottleneck’ of solvent evaporation, industry-leading sample drying reproducibility has been achieved by recent advancements in gas injection technology....
ZEISS has introduced a new compact microscope for digital teaching and routine lab work just in time for the International Day of Education, which took place yesterday. ZEISS Primostar 3 is a robust upright light microscope, which is made for daily work in a classroom or in a lab for tissue and sample examination in histology, cell biology, food or microbiology, etc. It is designed for long-term use and extreme durability....
Hamilton Company announces that it is joining its high-throughput automated workflow ingenuity with Artel’s performance testing expertise so that users may be assured of robust and continuous automated liquid handling workstation performance integrity. As part of the collaboration, Artel and Hamilton will co-develop standard automated scripts for Hamilton’s automated workstations...
Do you analyse common cannabinoids? This application note shows how you can separate a mixture of 11 of the most common cannabinoids using the robust and reproducible YMC-Triart C18 column. Until recently, cannabis and its derivatives were widely restricted under legislation which stated they had no medical value and carried a substantial risk of misuse. Policy is rapidly changing, and cannabis can now be prescribed for medicinal use in many countries across Europe.
Waters Corporation introduces the OttoTM SPEcialist Positive Pressure Manifold designed to improve the reliability and reproducibility of solid phase extraction (SPE). Equipped with easy-to-use, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant software and programmable pressure profiles, the Otto SPEcialist system provides confidence in SPE results by eliminating common workflow errors, reducing user variability, and documenting each method step to remove uncertainty and prevent duplicative efforts....
Ziath reports how it has worked with the Hubrecht Institute (Utrecht, Netherlands) which has developed a pioneering automated test robot, called STRIP-1, which can process up to 20,000 samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing in just 24 hours. This makes it much faster than all other automated SARS-CoV-2 testing systems used to date. In addition, all samples can be tracked precisely because they have a 2D-barcode on the bottom of each tube that is scanned multiple times throughout the process....
LGC has expanded its innovative portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 quality solutions with the release of AccuPlex™ SARS-CoV-2 in Synthetic Oral Fluid reference material. The product is designed to support development and testing efforts around novel saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics. It serves as an ideal research tool for assay developers as well as a complete quality solution for clinical laboratories employing such tests....
A UK biotech company developing a novel treatment for Covid-19 has welcomed NHS plans to make Covid-19 treatments available to patients as soon as possible. The CEO of NHS England, Sir Simon Stevens, recently highlighted the importance of therapeutic treatments to help the UK return to a more normal way of life, predicting that many of these treatments will be available to Covid-19 patients in 6 – 18 months....
Beckman Coulter, a global leader in clinical diagnostics, announce the launch of the DxH 560 AL, a tabletop analyser geared to reduce the time and resource constraints faced by small to mid-sized laboratories. With the analyser’s Auto-Loading functionality, closed tube aspiration and walkaway capabilities, users can continually add up to 50 samples, provide safety against blood-borne pathogens and spend less time on manual instrument tasks....
Asynt announce the DrySyn Illumin8 - a new, beautifully engineered, 8-position parallel photoreactor for research chemists. Based upon a modified version of Asynt’s popular DrySyn OCTO reactor, the DrySyn Illumin8 allows users to run up to 8 parallel photochemical reactions at a time in precision borosilicate tubes, up to 6 mL in volume. The unit mounts on a standard magnetic hotplate stirrer enabling powerful agitation and heating (up to 80 °C)...
Huber Kältemaschinenbau presents a cold trap for fast evaporation tasks in the laboratory. The Huber CT50 cold trap offers direct, rapid cooling to temperatures as low as -50°C as well as low operating costs. Its compact design takes up minimal space on the laboratory bench. Thanks to the natural refrigerant, the cold trap works in an environmentally friendly manner....
Cherwell Laboratories, specialist supplier of products for environmental monitoring and process validation, has drawn on its extensive pharmaceutical and related industry knowledge to publish an eBook titled, “Growth Promotion Testing: A Guide to Good Practices” which is available to download from Cherwell’s website. The guide is intended for anyone involved in growth promotion testing of microbiological media, providing an overview of key considerations and best practice for this key quality control (QC) test...
Developed in collaboration with DNA Genotek Inc., a subsidiary of OraSure Technologies, Inc. and a leading provider of biological sample collection, stabilization, and preparation products, the new large-volume protocol can process up to 4 ml of solution directly from an Oragene® 500 or 600 series collection devices in less than 2.5 hours. FlexSTAR workflows are fully automated instruments for isolating genomic DNA from large volumes of whole blood, buffy coats, saliva, cultured cells, PMBC’s and other samples...
BBI’s recently-acquired and well-respected team based in Freiburg, Germany (DIARECT GmbH) has developed two new recombinant antigen preparations produced in Baculovirus transfected Sf9 cells. The antigens Nucleocapsid (N) protein and Spike (S) glycoprotein Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) have been designed as critical raw materials for next generation serological assays....
Avacta Group plc, the developer of Affimer® biotherapeutics and reagents, announces that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Bruker Corporation (Billerica, MA) (NASDAQ: BRKR, “Bruker”) to evaluate the Affimer-based, bead assisted mass spectrometry (“BAMS™”) SARS-CoV-2 assay, that the Group has developed with Adeptrix Inc. (Beverley, MA) (“Adeptrix”)...
In an international collaboration, researchers have characterized the first significant SARS-CoV-2 mutation,N439K, occurring within the virus’s spike protein receptor binding motif (RBM). The N439K mutation, which was originally discovered in the first half of 2020 and is considered to be one of the first important SARS-CoV-2 RBM mutations, because it occurred within the receptor binding domain (RBD) in the virus’s Spike protein that interacts with the human ACE2 receptor...
Apricot Designs has established a 30-year track record supporting increasingly complex and evolving laboratory research requirements with the design and manufacture of multichannel micro-volume pipettors and sample preparation devices. The acquisition allows SPT Labtech to strategically expand its range of liquid handling technologies as part of its broader portfolio of innovative automation solutions for drug discovery, structural biology, genomics, cryo-EM, sample management and biobanking.
Venomtech® – a leading UK-based biotechnology company founded in 2010 – is harnessing the power of natural venoms produced by animals to generate compound libraries that are used in drug discovery studies. With a collection of nearly 200 species, from spiders to scorpions and even centipedes to study, the team at Venomtech is using INTEGRA’s VOYAGER adjustable tip spacing pipette to increase efficiency in the production of venom-based screening assays....
Eppendorf and the journal Science are now accepting applications for the 2021 Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology. This annual international research prize of US$25,000 is awarded to young scientists for their outstanding contributions to neurobiological research based on methods of molecular and cell biology. Researchers who are not older than 35 years are invited to apply by June 15, 2021....
"Transforming R&D: Digital innovation in the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries," a new report by MIT Technology Review Insights, explores how leading pharmaceuticals and chemicals companies are using artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other digital technologies to transform scientific research and enhance R&D performance. The report, produced in association with PerkinElmer Informatics, is based on in-depth interviews with R&D executives at organizations including Novartis, Roche, Merck, BASF, and Syngenta....
On Tuesday January 12th, in Nature Communications, strong preclinical results for a new COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the team of Prof. Salanti from University of Copenhagen, ExpreS2ion Biotech, its joint venture partner AdaptVac and the PREVENT-nCoV consortium, was published. Based on these results, a clinical trial application (CTA) for a clinical Phase I/II study for the COVID-19 vaccine has been submitted....
Compact Airo Sensors from ViGIE were chosen by Pfizer to monitor the company’s facilities during Covid vaccine production, and to monitor temperatures for the critical transportation of the vaccine between Pfizer factories, distribution centres and hubs worldwide. It is widely known that the new vaccine, first approved for widespread use in the UK, must be kept at a very low temperature of minus 70°C during storage and shipping....
Porvair Sciences has launched a new second generation model of its Ultravap® Mistral - an automation-ready sample evaporator that offers throughput advantages to laboratories looking to optimise and accelerate sample preparation. Designed to remove the traditional laboratory ‘bottleneck’ of solvent evaporation, industry-leading sample drying reproducibility has been achieved by recent advancements in gas injection technology....
ZEISS has introduced a new compact microscope for digital teaching and routine lab work just in time for the International Day of Education, which took place yesterday. ZEISS Primostar 3 is a robust upright light microscope, which is made for daily work in a classroom or in a lab for tissue and sample examination in histology, cell biology, food or microbiology, etc. It is designed for long-term use and extreme durability....
Hamilton Company announces that it is joining its high-throughput automated workflow ingenuity with Artel’s performance testing expertise so that users may be assured of robust and continuous automated liquid handling workstation performance integrity. As part of the collaboration, Artel and Hamilton will co-develop standard automated scripts for Hamilton’s automated workstations...
Do you analyse common cannabinoids? This application note shows how you can separate a mixture of 11 of the most common cannabinoids using the robust and reproducible YMC-Triart C18 column. Until recently, cannabis and its derivatives were widely restricted under legislation which stated they had no medical value and carried a substantial risk of misuse. Policy is rapidly changing, and cannabis can now be prescribed for medicinal use in many countries across Europe.
Waters Corporation introduces the OttoTM SPEcialist Positive Pressure Manifold designed to improve the reliability and reproducibility of solid phase extraction (SPE). Equipped with easy-to-use, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant software and programmable pressure profiles, the Otto SPEcialist system provides confidence in SPE results by eliminating common workflow errors, reducing user variability, and documenting each method step to remove uncertainty and prevent duplicative efforts....