INTEGRA ‘s newly-expanded Viaflo II electronic pipette range includes models designed to fill the gap between the existing 0.5-12.5ul and 5-125ul ranges. Available for single-, 8-, 12- and 16-channel Viaflo II pipettes, the new models deliver optimised precision pipetting in…
Nanoscale mass spectrometry boosts painting conservation
THE STUDY of cross-sections of heritage paintings has benefitted from a ‘breakthrough’ in atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoscale mass spectrometry, reports Anasys Instruments. Researchers at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Getty Conservation Institute developed a variation…
Lims proves popular for contract labs
AUTOSCRIBE reports that its Matrix Gemini Lims (laboratory information management system) is attracting increased interest from the contract laboratory sector. John Boother, the company’s managing director, told LabHomepage: “Matrix Gemini provides the versatility that appeals to contract laboratories, for laboratory…
Fume hoods reduce energy costs
FLOW SCIENCES says that reducing the airflow face velocity in its Saf T Flow chemical fume hoods can reduce energy costs by up to 60%. Laboratory fume hoods normally run with a face velocity of 0.5m/sec or 100fpm (feet per…
F5 pentafluorophenyl columns promise to outperform rivals
PHENOMENEX says it has redefined the industry standard by developing its new core-shell F5 pentafluorophenyl chromotography columns. The robust pentafluorophenyl propyl (PFP) core-shell phase overcomes reproducibility and performance limitations of existing PFP and F5 products, which testing shows produced sporadic…
Easier access to microfluidic chip surface
DOLOMITE says its pressure-driven resealable chip interface enables tool-free assembly of glass, quartz or polymer resealable microfluidic chips, allowing the user to deposit reagents, sensors, biosensors or cells onto the chip base layer for exposure to the fluid stream. The…
Benchtop spectrometers ‘outperform’ in light-element analysis
PANALYTICAL says the combination of the latest excitation and detection technologies means that its upgraded Epsilon 3X benchtop X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometers can match or even surp[ass the performance of more powerful instruments for the detection of light elements. The…
Light microscope as ‘fast and efficient’ alternative to SEM
IN DETAILED studies for a heritage conservation project, researchers at the University of Antwerp in Belgium have found that high-resolution optical microscopy can be as powerful as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This is the claim made by Olympus, whose DSX500…
Venter to deliver keynote at Synbiobeta SF 2014
SYNBIOBETA has announced that bio-pioneer Craig Venter will be the keynote speaker at the 3rd Annual SynBioBeta SF 2014 conference, to be held 13-15 November 2014 at Mission Bay Conference Center. Venter founded and leads the J Craig Venter Institute…
Map spectral responses across microscopic surfaces
CRAIC Technologies says the Spectral Surface Mapping (S2M) capabilities of its UV-visible-NIR microspectrophotometers gives users the ability to map the spectral responses across of surfaces of their samples, point-by-point. With microscopic spatial resolution, surface profiles can be created using UV-visible-NIR…
Bio-Rad resolves corruption issues with US government
BIO-RAD Laboratories has announced the full resolution of previously-disclosed investigations by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into past violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that occurred from 2005 to 2010 related…
New cleanroom for NIT France
NEW Imaging Technologies has inaugurated its new clean room facility at Verrières-le-Buisson, France. The company, known as NIT, says it has invested almost 500,000 euro in the ISO 4-standard clean room. Together with its full range of inspection equipment, the…
2013/14 Cole-Parmer Sourcebook is reference and catalogue in one
Cole-Parmer says its new 2013/14 Sourcebook offers the best of both for scientists, manufacturers, and purchasing managers. From conversion factors to regulatory agencies and approvals to selection guides, the volume is packed with information to make buying and using products…
qPCR assay plates streamline high throughput analysis
IDT reports that primers and probes for 5′-nuclease and intercalating dye assays (such as Sybr) can now be directly ordered online in a 96 well plate format. The launch of PrimeTime qPCR assay plates for high throughput qPCR analysis eliminates…
Hunting down legionella with Infinite M200 plate reader
RESEARCHERS at the Ensminger Lab, part of the department of molecular genetics at the University of Toronto, Canada, are using Tecan’s Infinite M200 Pro plate reader and gas control module to study host-pathogen interactions for Legionella bacteria. Alex Ensminger discussed…
Latest Acolyte colony counter is faster and cheaper
THE THIRD iteration of Synbiosis’s Acolyte colony counter offers ,more speed and better economy, says the company. Acolyte 3 is described as ideal for microbiologists that need to increase throughput and improve count accuracy. This new low-cost automated colony counter…
How to choose the best liquid flowmeter for the lab
A NEW white paper, ‘How to specify liquid flowmeters’, draws on many years of experience from Titan Enterprises . The company observes that accurate, reliable, and cost effective flow measurement is more important today than it has ever been. The…
AFM infrared spectroscopy boosts resistant bacteria studies
ATOMIC force microscopy (AFM) has been the main analytical tool at the laboratory of physics of living matter at EPFL Switzerland, in the lab’s research into the mechanical properties of proteins, cells, and tissues. Now an Anasys NanoIR AFM-IR system…
Micro bioreactor cultures insect cells at EMBL
TAP Biosystems reports that its Ambr micro bioreactor system is in use at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Grenoble, France, for rapid small-scale parallel expression of human multi-protein complexes using baculovirus. The bioreactor is being used by scientists…
HPLC solvent evaporation accelerated
NEW versions of MiniVap and UltraVap blowdown evaporators have been announced by Porvair Sciences. These devices use warm air or nitrogen to speed up the evaporation of common HPLC solvents such as dichloromethane, methanol and acetonitrile from sample vials, significantly…
Ward off pipetting RSI with this free lab poster
ANYBODY who has worked in a lab for any length of time will be aware that pipetting increases the risk of developing Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Risks can be reduced by applying Good Pipetting Practice (GPP) within the laboratory. Advice…
First Android smart spectrometer now available in UK
ANALYTIK announces the first Android-based mobile smart spectrometer for measurement of colour co-ordinates, correlated colour temperature, colour rendering index, luminous flux, and other lighting parameters. The new GL Spectis 1.0 Touch from GL Optic is the first mobile spectrometer to…
Learn all about laboratory external quality assessment
A NEW website dedicated to its Riqas external quality assessment (EQA) scheme has been unveiled by Randox. The company says riqas.com provides everything a laboratory might need to know about the scheme, an acronym of Randox International Quality Assessment Scheme.…
Better suspended cell growth with untreated microplates
GROWING cells in suspension is a convenient way to reduce call attachment, which may be important for various laboratory processes. A new range of untreated polystyrene culture microplates from Porvair Sciences are, says the company, suitable for this task. Untreated…
Extracellular matrix offers ‘new opportunities’ in cancer research
THE latest developments in extracellular matrix (ECM) and the opportunities they offer in cancer research are discussed in a new white paper from Amsbio. At least 80 percent of cancers are carcinomas, or tumours of the epithelia. Traditionally, cell transformation…
High-speed mixing made easier with multi-tube holder
COLE-PARMER offers three new high-speed multitube holders as accessories for its original Vortex-Genie 2 and Vortex-Genie pulse mixers. The new tube holders are optimised to achieve the highest vortex action when mixing only a small number of tubes. The Vortex-Genie…
Agilent catalogue is ‘user-friendly’
Agilent Technologies has introduced its 2013 Essential Chromatography and Spectroscopy Catalogue. The new volume is divided into five sections to help the reader easily navigate the company’s portfolio, which includes general chromatography, sample preparation, GC and GC/MS, LC and LC/MS,…
Maintaining a permanent chill in the lab
SP SCIENTIFIC offers a wide range of compact and quiet recirculating chillers with heat removal rates from 1050 to 24,000W and temperature ranges from -90C to +150C. The company says an optimised SP Scientific chiller is available to suit most…
Shimadzu University helps improve research methods
SHIMADZU University recently held a series of complimentary ‘Sharing best practice’ events at the company’s Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes. These were open to any Shimadzu customers interested in learning more about how to get the most reliable results…
More productive isolation of novel flavour ingredients
FINDING and isolating new flavour molecules from natural sources is a complex and laborious process, yet the rewards for finding such a molecule make the effort worthwhile. A new technical article from Genevac details how its HT-24 centrifugal evaporation system…