908 Devices, an innovator in point-of-use chemical analysis, continues to benefit from its research partnership with the group of Prof. J. Michael Ramsey at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH).

The Ramsey team made a total of eight research presentations at the American Society of Mass Spectrometry Conference in June, all advancing the rapidly evolving field of High Pressure Mass Spectrometry (HPMS^TM). The UNC-CH presentations covered substantial advances in both the theoretical understanding and practical performance of miniature ion traps, ionizers and detectors at operating pressures up to, and beyond, 1 torr – HPMS^TM. Multiple presentations explored the theoretical attributes of ion trajectories as a function of trap fabrication geometries and drive parameters...

AMSBIO, a provider of cutting-edge life science technologies and services for accelerating discovery in cancer research, has continued its sponsorship of the annual poster prize at the Beatson International Cancer Conference (7th -10th July 2013).

Anasys Instruments announces a new application for AFM-IR to study as reported by research scientists in NIST publication "Tech Beat."

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland have shown how to make nanoscale measurements of critical properties of plasmonic nanomaterials—the specially engineered nanostructures that modify the interaction of light and matter for a variety of applications, including sensors, cloaking (invisibility), photovoltaics and therapeutics. Their technique is one of the few that allows researchers to make actual physical measurements of these materials at the nanoscale without affecting the nanomaterial's function...

A set of application notes from Malvern Instruments demonstrates the sample integrity, flexibility and lack of cross contamination during automated, rapid screening of protein samples using the Zetasizer Auto Plate Sampler (APS) dynamic light scattering (DLS) system.

Enabling automated measurements of multiple samples, the Zetasizer APS delivers the same high sensitivity, high specification DLS measurements as other systems in Malvern’s well-known Zetasizer series, making it ideal for protein applications. Easy data interpretation, using custom-designed results criteria, is supported by a colour-coded data quality display. Zetasizer APS allows the production of large amounts of high quality DLS data with no user intervention to maximize productivity in busy protein laboratories. The data display capability enables the operator to easily retrieve results of interest, without having to manually scan through all measurements...

Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid LC-MS technology to power new cellular signaling network research  

Thermo Fisher Scientific and  the Department of Systems Biology at the Technical University of Denmark, (DTU), have formed a collaboration to pursue breakthroughs in the understanding of how cellular protein networks drive important diseases. Under the collaboration, Thermo Fisher will provide early access to new technology and designs, and DTU proteomics scientists will provide feedback and collaborate on new applications...

Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments report on the use of their popular MDS600 stage for fluid inclusion research at the University of Lille 1, France.

In the Laboratory of Civil Engineering and geo-Environment (LGCgE) of the University of Lille 1, Professor Michel Dubois and two of his MSc students, Mrs Hulin and Mrs Ventalon, have been using the Linkam MDS600 stage for fluid inclusion studies. The LGCgE consists of three research areas: habitat, geo-materials and geo-environment. The geo-environment department investigates the impact humans have had on the environment, how natural resources are utilized, industrial activities past and present, and urban transport...

OGT publishes survey results

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), provider of innovative genetics research and biomarker solutions to advance molecular medicine, has released the results from a recent survey of researchers using next generation sequencing. The survey was designed to investigate current trends in NGS usage and determine future demands; to aid OGT in continuing to deliver high-quality, up-to-date services and provide insightful, relevant customer resources...

Team also publishes paper examining ability to distinguish between protein aggregates and oil droplets in biopharmaceutical formulations

Coriolis Pharma (Martinsried, Germany) has become the first pharmaceutical contract research organization in the world to routinely use Archimedes, a new analytical instrument supplied by Malvern Instruments. Coriolis Pharma specializes in formulation development for biopharmaceuticals such as proteins, peptides and vaccines and offers a wide variety of services to support product development....

Integrated Software Solutions Ltd, the specialist laboratory management software developer, today announces the latest implementation of its OMNI-Lab Newborn Screening management suite, this time at GSTS Pathology LLP, the unique and innovative joint venture between Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts and Serco plc. 

OMNI-Lab software is at the heart of a system that facilitates the safe and efficient management of bloodspots, taken by heelprick for screening from thousands of newborn infants each year in the South East Thames region (approx. 60,000 live births p.a.).  The screening either indicates that the infants are not suspected of having any of five serious diseases of infancy*, or alerts paediatricians to the need for further testing and/or possible treatment....

METTLER TOLEDO’s Weighing Standard Ensures USP Compliance Free On-demand Webinar Clarifies the New Rules

On the 3^rd June, 2013, United States Pharmacopeia (USP) published the revised mandatory Chapter 41 on balances as well as new updates to the advisory Chapter 1251. With just six months to comply, METTLER TOLEDO’s global weighing standard, GWP^®, can help pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers to meet the new requirements. The new revisions define modified balance test procedures for the US pharmaceutical industry and also apply to companies exporting to the US.,,,

Satisfaction survey highlights Cherwell’s commitment to customer needs

Cherwell Laboratories, specialists in products for process validation and environmental monitoring, today affirms its commitment to customer satisfaction and ISO9001:2008 Quality Management. This follows the recent completion of a user survey for its SAS microbial air monitoring equipment and calibration service. Cherwell’s customer satisfaction levels were rated high in all areas, with product knowledge and reliability ranking highest...

Market leaders in temperature controlled microscopy, Linkam Scientific Instruments report on the use of their functional LTS420 temperature stage for crystallization studies at the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern.

Founded in 1970, the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern is organized into 12 faculties. It is the only technology and natural sciences University in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz and its reputation for excellent teaching makes it one of the highest ranking Universities in Germany. PhD candidate, Mr Buncha Suksut MSc, is completing his studies at the Department for Composite Engineering at the University. His work focuses on the morphology development and micro-/nanoscopic deformation behaviour of thermoplastic materials reinforced on the nanoscale...

Redd&Whyte, an expert supplier of liquid handling automation for drug discovery and life science research applications, today announced its Preddator system has been integrated in an assay workcell by AstraZeneca, to meet a generic high throughput nano-litre dispensing application. Using the Preddator system, the assay run time has been significantly reduced, while maintaining the dispensing consistency and flexibility of the original workcell.

Tecan’s Infinite^® M200 PRO microplate reader is helping researchers at the University of Salzburg, Austria, to monitor cell growth of microaerophilic bacteria.

Univ-Prof Dr Silja Wessler, Professor in Microbiology, explained: “We research a wide range of cellular signal transduction pathways initiated by the interaction of host cells with pathogens like Helicobacter pylori, and were approached to beta test the new Gas Control Module (GCM™) for the Infinite M200 PRO. The instrument’s potential was soon very clear, and we bought a system almost straightaway. We use a variety of techniques for our work, including culturing of microaerophilic organisms, immunofluorescence, cytokine ELISAs, reporter gene assays and cell migration assays and, because the Tecan reader is so flexible, we can use it for virtually all of our experiments...

Analytik, leading suppliers of innovative analytical solutions to the UK and Ireland, report on the application of the ASD, a PANalytical company, LabSpec 4 portable Vis-NIR spectrometer in the characterisation of samples at the National Soil Resources Institute at Cranfield University.

The National Soil Resources Institute is located at Cranfield University where it leads the University's research on soil science to better understand the physical, chemical and biological processes that make up soil systems and provide the capacity for soil-based ecosystem services. Dr Abdul Mounem Mouazen has a background in the application of engineering principles to soil and water management, with specific applications in soil dynamics, tillage, traction, compaction, mechanical weeding, soil remediation and management...

Warwick Analytical Service has reported on analysis it carried out on behalf of Buckinghamshire County Council (UK) who were investigating a serious case of illegal dumping of dangerous chemicals.

As a result of laboratory analytical service data produced by Warwick Analytical Service (WAS) - Buckingham County Council (BCC) was able to successfully prosecute this criminal act. In this 'fly tipping' incident two drums of Sodium Hydroxide each containing significant amounts of the chemical were dumped in a location known to the Council and local police to be an area of where these activities occur regularly....

Thermo Fisher Scientific has developed a simple and accurate method to quantify four key antibiotics in dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) using high-performance liquid chromatography with charged aerosol detection.

Application Note (AN) 1055: Determination of Virginiamycin, Erythromycin, and Penicillin in Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles demonstrates the ability of a specialized protein and peptide column to efficiently separate and resolve the target antibiotics within 15 min, followed by column cleanup and equilibration for a total analysis time of 25 min. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised concern over food-producing animals consuming DDGS with antibiotic residues, which potentially may lead to increased antibiotic resistance in humans and animals...

Dr E Neil Lewis, Chief Technology Officer at Malvern Instruments and Head of the company’s Bioscience Development Initiative, will speak at the International BioAnalytical Congress taking place in Berlin (Germany) on 11 and 12 September 2013.

Thanks to a new computational model, doctors will now be able to calculate the risk of older patients with type 2 diabetes developing dementia. Doctors can now estimate if patients have a higher risk of developing dementia or if they are less at risk.

The fact that, on average, diabetes patients are twice as likely to develop dementia as people without diabetes was already known. However, there are major differences between patients and it is unknown which factors determine the risk of diabetes patients developing dementia. Insight into who has a high risk of developing dementia is important, as it may be possible to influence these factors in the early stage of diabetes...

WHEATON® Offers a Turnkey Solution for CHO Cell Bioproduction

WHEATON® CELLineTM Bioreactor combined with an optimized CHO medium formulation by Irvine Scientific expedites small-scale antibody and protein production.  WHEATON® and Irvine Scientific have collaborated to introduce a high yield, small-scale solution for bioproduction. The solution consists of a WHEATON® CELLine™ bioreactor flask paired with Irvine Scientific’s BalanCD™ CHO Growth A animal component-free, chemically-defined medium....

Olympus introduces new advanced optical modules for increased flexibility in its inverted microscope frame design.

The IX3 series can now be further optimised for a wider range of live cell imaging applications including in vitro fertilisation, with motorised functionality for accuracy and easy operation. Extending the capabilities of the fully customisable IX3 inverted microscope frame, Olympus has expanded its range of compatible, interchangeable optical modules. Ease-of-use and accuracy are vastly improved via new motorised components, which also present a cost-efficient means to gradually upgrade to a fully motorised microscope system....

Scientific Digital Imaging’s [AIM:SDI] Syngene Division, a world- leading manufacturer of image analysis solutions, is delighted to announce that one of its G:BOX Chemi imaging systems is being used at Maastricht University in The Netherlands as part of their science bachelors programme to train students how to rapidly master a range of molecular biology imaging techniques. 

Students at the Chemelot Campus of Maastricht University are using a G:BOX Chemi system to accurately image proteins extracted from mosses, tropical leaves and insects run on Coomassie blue stained gels or blotted onto chemi-luminescent Western blots. This approach is allowing the students to quickly and easily analyse a range of proteins seen in the natural environment...