Sizing particles 

Micromeritics from Norcross, Georgia, US, have launched the Elzone II 5390 particle size analyzer which uses an electric sensing zone method to determine quickly and accurately the size, number, concentration, and mass of a wide variety of organic and inorganic materials for industry, quality control, and research and development laboratories.   

The Elzone can determine particle sizes down to 0.4 m in industrial, biological and geological samples of varying optical properties, densities, colours and shapes.    

info@micromeritics.com   

Arc for metal analysis    

Spectro Analytical Instruments of Kleve, Germany, has introduced Spectro iSORT - a flexible, battery powered, mobile hand-held spectrometer for on-site analysis of iron, nickel, titanium, aluminium, copper and cobalt metals. It uses arc excitation ignition and requires neither argon nor a radioactive source. The calibration software in iSORT controls instrument status independently from external influences and eliminates the need for lengthy recalibrations for changes in location and temperature. The instrument includes a unique scrubbing system for the analysis of carbon in iron. Applications include materials testing in production, component identification in chemical and petrochemical plants, material failure analysis and weld seal analysis.   

info@spectro.com   

Solids analysed by praying mantis   

Thermo Electron of Madison, Wisconsin, US, has introduced the Praying Mantis diffuse reflectance accessory for use with its Evolution 300 and Evolution 600 UV-visible spectrophotometers. The accessory allows characterisation of solid samples, such as minute amounts of a powder, by UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Samples can be as small as 3 mm in diameter and 1 mm deep. The accessory could find application in material science analysis in academic research, national and government research laboratories.   

The Praying Mantis accessory incorporates overcoated mirrors enabling the full wavelength range of the instrument to be used. Additionally, optional reaction chambers are available which extend the capabilities of the accessory, allowing researchers to study the characteristics of their samples at a wide variety of temperatures and pressures. Temperatures can be controlled from -150°C to 600°C, and variable vacuum control systems are available.   

analyze@thermo.com   

The listening instrument   

Akubio from Cambridge, UK, has launched its RAP  id4 system which enables real-time label-free measurement and analysis of biomolecular interactions, especially protein-protein interactions, with high accuracy, reproducibility and sensitivity.   

RAP  id4 is a flow-based system which allows users to work directly with complex samples, such as cell culture supernatants and periplasmic extracts, with minimal need for pre-assay purification or post-assay calibration.    

Based on Akubio's Resonant Acoustic Profiling (RAP) technology, RAP  id4 can process an average of 400 samples per day.   

icampbell@akubio.com   

Parallel chemistry   

HEL, Barnet, UK, has a multi-zone reaction platform that performs reactions in four or eight independently controlled temperature zones (PolyBlock PB4 and PB8). The platform provides temperatures from -60 to 250ºC, controllable to within  ± 0.1ºC, with independent stirring in each vessel. The individual vessels range from 2 to 350 ml.  

The PolyBlock platform can be combined with multi-vessel winISO software. It can conveniently condense up to 112 and 56 samples respectively with the custom inerting and refluxing heads. 

ykilama@helgroup.com 

Spectroscopy for nanotechnology 

Shimadzu have launched the UV-3600 UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer, giving high-resolution spectroscopic analysis (185 nm-3300 nm). It claims that the spectrophotometer virtually eliminates the low levels of sensitivity normally associated with the NIR (near infrared) light range (1000-1500 nm).

The UV-3600 is the first three detector spectrophotometer and is equipped with a photomultiplier tube, indium gallium arsenide, and lead sulfide detector. It also has a very low noise level with <0.0003Abs noise at 1500 nm and a double monochromator enables resolution to 0.1 nm with ultra-low stray light (0.00005 per cent or less at 340 nm). 

sales@shimadzu.co.uk 

Fast plate reading  

Tecan of Männedorf, Switzerland, has launched the Infinite F500 detection platform for assay development and screening. 

This microplate reader can measure a 1536-well plate in under 30 seconds. 

info@tecan.com