Cooled by air  

Thermo Fisher Scientific of Waltham, US, has launched a new series of air-cooled peltier accessories for use with their UV-visible spectrophotometers, delivering precise temperature control. The air-cooled design eliminates the laborious procedure of monitoring recirculating water levels, and adding anti-freeze or anti-bacterial mixtures to a water-cooling system. The air-cooled peltier accessories contain built-in magnetic stirring, which helps maintain thermal equilibrium throughout the sample by eliminating thermal gradients within the cuvette. The stir speed is regulated by an external control module and software. The software also enables scientists to rapidly specify the temperature they require for analysis.  Additionally, the accessories allow scientists flexibility to choose from a wide range of temperatures between 20 and 60°C, covering the biologically relevant temperatures of 25, 37, and 50°C. 
analyze@thermofisher.com 

Heat and shake 

Radleys of Saffron Walden, UK, have launched the Metz Heater Shaker designed to fulfil the heating and agitation needs of scientists in the fields of chemical synthesis, combinatorial chemistry, process development and optimisation. Offering heating and shaking in a single compact unit, the Metz Heater Shaker fits easily onto any bench or into any fume hood. Reactions or incubations are performed in a removable reaction block that fits securely into the heated platform, which rotates in a circular orbit for efficient mixing of the reactants. The shaker is flexible, accepting different tube sizes or multiple micro titre plates, and can be operated as a stand-alone unit, or can be used as part of an automated system or robotic workstation. 
sales@radleys.co.uk 

Environmental email alerts 

Lascar Electronics of Salisbury, UK, has introduced the EL-USB-RT temperature and humidity sensor. The sensor, which is connected to a PC via a USB port, is supplied with software that provides real-time indication of ambient temperatures between -10 and +60°C and humidity between 0 and 100 per cent RH. These, together with a calculated dew point, can be viewed as either a constantly updated graph, or a numerical indication of the last reading taken. Users can assign high and low alarms for both temperature and humidity, and the software can be configured to send email alerts as these levels are exceeded. 
ben.savage@lascar.co.uk 

TCI-UK opens in Oxford 

TCI-UK, the UK subsidiary of Tokyo Chemical Industries, has opened offices in the Oxford Science Park. The TCI group manufactures and/or supplies over 19,000 specialised chemicals and undertakes custom synthesis, bulk volume production and GMP-compliant manufacturing. For example, TCI provides complex glycosides for applications in bioscience in amounts ranging from grams to tonnes. 
sales@tci-uk.co.uk 

Nano-dispensing alliance 

Anachem of Luton, UK, has announced a new collaboration with Innovadyne of Santa Rosa, California, US, enabling the Anachem Flexus automated liquid handling platform to feature a fully integrated nano-dispenser as provided by Innovadyne. 
response@anachem.co.uk 

Oxygen gas stream analyser 

Mocon of Minneapolis, US,  has launched the smallest oxygen gas stream analyser (GSA) ever manufactured for online form-fill-seal food packaging applications with continuous gas flushing. The GSA Model 102 measures only 7.5 x 4.3 x 2.3 inches and weighs less than 2lb. The small size simplifies installation on new units or retrofitting on existing form-fill-seal equipment.  
sbunnell@mocon.com  

Melamine in food  

PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences of Waltham, US, have launched the Melamine Analyser, a complete analyser using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for the determination of melamine adulteration in protein-based foods. 
productinfo@perkinelmer.com 

Pinot Noir sequenced 

Researchers from the Istituto Agrario di San Michele all'Adige and Myriad Genetics have used 454 Life Sciences's Genome Sequencer 20 to sequence and assemble the genome of the Pinot Noir grape, one of the most popular red wine grape varieties in the world. The 454 Sequence data was used in conjunction with Sanger data to produce an assembled genome of 477 million bases in length with 29,585 predicted genes (see Chemistry World,October 2007, p6). The Pinot Noir genome sequence will aid growers breed grapes for disease resistance. 
info@454.com 

Agilent in India 

Agilent of Santa Clara, US, has recently sold more than 50 analytical instruments - mainly Rapid Resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) systems, plus gas chromatography and headspace samplers - to Orchid, one of the top 15 companies in Indian pharmaceuticals. The Agilent 1200 series RRLC system provides up to 20 times faster analysis and 60 per cent higher resolution than conventional HPLC. 
See website.