In safe hands

Mapa Spontex UK has launched TopChem 345 gloves which are resistant to the 12 chemicals listed in the European standards for protective gloves (EN-374-3 annex) and the three gases listed in the EN 943-2 European protective clothing standards.  

TopChem 345 gloves are made of black PVA (polyvinylalcohol) over neoprene (polychloroprene) rubber with an internal cotton liner and natural latex rubber layer between the liner and the neoprene layer.  

Mapa Spontex claims that the gloves give superior chemical resistance to solvents such as petroleum, aromatic and chlorinated solvents, ketones, esters, ethers, and solvent mixtures. 

TopChem 345s have curved fingers, contoured palms and smooth external surface. 

The gloves are ideal for handling and transporting chemicals as well as dealing with hazardous chemical emergencies and site decontamination.  

Other main fields of use include the printing industry, metal degreasing and stripping, manufacturing paints and varnishes, metal surface preparation (solvents), and resin and adhesive manufacturing.  

As well as offering protection against chemicals, TopChem 345 also guards against microorganisms, mechanical risks and heat. 

XRF made easy  

Spectro Analytical Instruments of Kleve, Germany, has launched the Spectro iQ II X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. It uses polarised excitation to perform multi-elemental analysis of solid, powder and liquid samples for process control.  

The Spectro iQ II incorporates a new detection system and a new software control interface that allows the addition of an optional touch-screen computer. It is equipped with a new silicon drift detector unit and offers higher spectral resolution and lower detection limits for numerous elements such as sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and chlorine. A number of application packages are available for the Spectro iQ II, including analysis of additives in oil, cement, slag and ceramics. 

info@spectro.com 

Watch your chemistry cooking 

CEM Microwave Technology of Buckingham, UK, has launched its Discover S-Class system for microwave-enhanced synthesis with a digital camera option. This allows chemical reactions to be observed and monitored in situ. 

The Discover S-Class provides fully automated pressure control using IntelliVent technology and Synergy software. It runs 4 ml, 10 ml and 35 ml pressure vials. Variable speed stirring allows the agitation speed to be changed. 

info.uk@cem.com 

Sample security 

Camlab of Cambridge, UK, has launched its Double Tamper Proof plastic bottles to provide secure transport and storage for a wide range of applications including drugs of abuse, raw material testing and forensic sampling. The bottles are provided with a cap in place and first security seal intact.  

Unscrewing the cap and opening the sample bottle releases the first security ring which is retained on the neck of the bottle. The bottle can then be used to collect and store the sample before the cap is replaced and resealed. This then engages with a second security ring which will break if any attempt is made to tamper with the sample during transit or prior to testing in a controlled environment. 

plastics@camlab.co.uk 

Volatile solvent solution 

With a new Anti Droplet Control (ADC), Hamilton Robotics of Birmingham, UK, introduces an innovation in its STAR liquid handling systems for pipetting volatile organic solvents, using a technique called monitored air displacement. Pressure sensors in the pipetting channel monitor each pipetting step, giving users the opportunity to react immediately to problems such as empty samples or clots. 

Pipetting volatile organic solvents is a challenge because their evaporation causes a pressure increase that leads to immediate leakage from the pipette. The pressure sensors in the STAR's pipetting channels can detect this pressure increase which ADC can compensate for in real time. 

infoservice@hamiltonrobotics.com 

MS for proteomics 

Bruker Daltonics has launched its Apex-ultra Fourier transform mass spectrometer for 'top-down' proteomics and the analysis of complex mixtures, eg in metabolomics or petroleomics. 

Bruker claims that the FTMS features wider mass range transmission, higher resolving power, better mass accuracy, and faster data acquisition. 

The Apex-ultra is capable of sub-ppm mass accuracy and resolving powers of greater than 900,000 at m/z 400 at 7 tesla, or greater than 1,500,000 at m/z 400 at 9.4 tesla, ideal for interrogating proteins and protein fragments, as well as complex mixtures of small molecules in metabolomics or petroleomics. Higher resolving power and better mass accuracy are available at 12 tesla or 15 tesla. 

The Apex-ultra FTMS gives mass-selective, continuous enrichment of low abundant species, eg selected post-translational modifications (PTMs). 

It is a tool for top-down proteomics, because an enriched protein form can be investigated using fragmentation methods such as collisionally induced dissociation and infrared multiphoton dissociation .  

Michael.Willett@bruker.com 

Oxygenate analysis

Agilent Technologies has introduced the GS-Oxyplot capillary gas chromatography column for analysing trace levels of oxygenated hydrocarbons such as alcohols, ethers, ketones and aldehydes in complex matrices including gaseous hydrocarbons, motor fuels and crude oil. GS-Oxyplot's solid stationary phase provides strong adsorption characteristics so that lower-boiling-point compounds elute well after higher-boiling-point compounds.