Clued up
Horiba Jobin Yvon of Stanmore, UK, have introduced the Cathodoluminescence Universal Extension (CLUE) upgrade for scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). CLUE provides high-resolution spectral information with the spatial resolution of an electron probe. Full user control of software offers polychromatic and monochromatic cathodoluminescence images, as well as advanced mapping. CLUE is easily adjustable, with an optical design that allows users to work from the UV to IR wavelength ranges while maintaining optical quality. Options are available for fast spectral acquisition when working in charged-coupled device (CCD) mode, or high-resolution spectral acquisition when working with a photomultiplier tube (PMT).
info@jobinyvon.co.uk

Mimicking metabolism 
ESA Biosciences of Aylesbury, UK, has launched new HPLC systems designed to expedite drug-metabolism studies and to support medicinal chemistry efforts by electrochemically synthesising quantities of difficult-to-obtain metabolites from a variety of parent compounds. At the systems' core are new high-efficiency, high-capacity electrochemical synthesis cells. The user can control the systems' oxidation capacity to generate specific oxidation products for use in a variety of metabolite-generation tasks. These new electrochemical synthesis systems are an ideal complement to LC-MS for ADME-Tox / DMPK and other drug-metabolism operations. Of particular interest is the systems' ability to mimic much of the oxidation capabilities of cytochrome P450, a key enzyme family responsible for drug metabolism. There are two new synthesis cells: the 5150 cell has high capacity and is preferred for low-potential (<500mV) oxidation reactions, while the 5125 cell is recommended for high-potential reactions.
egoodall@esainc.com

Super-sensitive NMR
Jeol USA of Peabody, US, have introduced the high-stability FT-NMR ECS spectrometer, featuring a Jastec 400 MHz super self-shielded SCM superconducting magnet, which greatly reduces stray fields. The spectrometer is fully automated and network enabled, adaptable to a many-to-many communication paradigm. Its broadband auto-tunable probe guarantees sensitivities of 200 (ASTM) for ¹³C and 280 (0.1 per cent ethyl benzene) for ¹H. The ECS FT-NMR spectrometer is available in field strengths of 300 and 400, with a selection of automatic sample changers for up to 64 samples.
pcorkum@jeol.com

FT-MS for complex samples
Bruker Daltronics of Billerica, US, has launched the apex-ultra FT-MS mass spectrometer, which features excellent dynamic range, ultra-high resolving power and high mass accuracy, plus fast data acquisition. The system features the Bruker refrigerated FT-MS superconducting magnet technology at 7, 9.4, 12 and 15 Tesla and is particularly suitable for top-down proteomics and the analysis of complex mixtures - for example, in metabolomics and petroleum fractions.
Michael.willett@bruker.com

Neurotoxicity testing
Millipore Billerica, US, has introduced the Neurite outgrowth assay for specificity labeling and neuronal cell bodies for high content imaging. The kit utilises high-quality, validated, target-specific detection reagents for profiling in a variety of species, including human, mouse and rat. Large-scale screening is simplified through the assay reagents' 24-hour stability at room temperature. Its primary antibody is immunofluorescence-based to specifically label neurites and neuronal cell bodies in heterogeneous cell populations. High-sensitivity-generating images with high signal-to-background ratios facilitate subsequent high content analysis, making the kit ideal for screening inducers and inhibitors of neurite outgrowth neurotoxins.
lauren_nolan@millipore.com

Beads R Us
Q Chip of Cardiff, UK, has developed the MicroPlant, a microfluidics-based device which enables the precise encapsulation of aqueous molecular biology reagents within re-dissolvable polymer microspheres. MicroPlant's ability to consistently encapsulate highly accurate reagent quantities has a variety of applications in molecular biology processes, ranging from food pathogen detection to real time PCR and viral-load quantification. MicroPlant allows both large and small volumes of solutions to be accurately aliquoted into sub-nanolitre droplets, which are converted to polymer beads. The bead size variation is frequently less than one per cent, which means extremely low assay variability. The MicroPlant platform is fully scalable; able to produce batches as small as 1000 beads but also up to 15 million  ´ 96 well plates annually. The microfluidic chips used in the Microplant are extremely cheap components, which can be easily cleaned to prevent contamination, or simply disposed of in batch-type processes. Each encapsulation procedure may be performed under optimum thermal conditions, ranging from +200°C to -30°C. However, in the context of molecular reagent encapsulation, temperatures of 5-37°C are most applicable.
nanette.bartram@q-chip.com