New products

The trend since then has seen the extensive use of microprocessor power to give greater flexibility, higher resolution and accuracy, faster speed, easier setting up, smaller size and lower cost. Now, the sixth generationAST3 has an internal resolution of 1 in 8 million (23 bit) using a patented Sigma/Delta A/D conversion technique and communicates on RS485 at 115 baud using modbus protocol. Analogue outputs of 0IOV, 0-2mA are standard. Communication speed is 380 times greater than the original Scale-0-Scope and the resolution 260 times greater.

We are pleased, in the following, to describe some of the new products launched at this year's Pittsburgh Conference.

Zymark Corporation
The Zymate II was introduced at the Conference and represents Zymark Corporation's second generation of laboratory robotics.
First introduced at the 1982 Pittsburgh Exposition,the Zymate Laboratory Automation System now offers over 50 different automatically interchangeable robot hands, system modules and interfaces. It is the only laboratory robotics system that can simultaneoulsy operate up to 25 laboratory stations.
The Zymate II features a high-speed robot to improve sample throughput and an updated system controller with enhanced instrument and computer interfacing capability.
To provide higher sample throughput rates, the speed of the Zymate II robot has been doubled and is now variable over a 1:5 range. To ensure the reliability of its automated procedures, the fully programmable Zymate II has tactile sensing and collision detection capabilities.
The Zymate II also features applications software called FASTPak (Fast Applications and Start-up Tech-niques Package). Designed for many common laboratory unit operations, it provides rapid start-up in implementing automated procedures. Using FASTPak's preprogrammed routines, laboratory unit operations such as pippeting, capping, dispensing and weighing can be implemented without having to individually program the detailed steps of these procedures. Programming time is also reduced through FASTPak's The new Zymate H(TM) Laboratory Automation System performing an automated analysis.
The modular design of the Zym.:e System guarantees its future expandability. Retroft packages are available which allow all existing Zymate robots to be updated to the Zymate H confguration. Laboratory automation systems incorporating the Zymate H are priced between $35 000 andS40 000. Optional features such as instrument interfaces and the barcode readerare available at additional cost. automatic serialization and sample scheduling capability.
Custom and standard software packages are also available with the new system for laboratory integration of robotics, analytical instruments and computers. In addition, the Zymate Controller provides a wider range of computer and instrument interfacing capabilities. An improved Remote Control/Computer Interface is available with the system, permitting the Zymate I I to be operated either by a host computer or from the Zymate Controller. This frees any auxiliary system connected to the computer for simultaneous data processing or report ge.neration. 'Plug-in' interfaces  Under computer control, the Technicon TRAACS 800 system can automatically initiate operation, sequence reagents, set base-line and gain automatically, and generate real-time as well as corrected results. The random access sampling system accommodates up to 120 sample cups and utilizes a patented 'pecking-atthe-source' feature to improve sample throughput and wash characteristics. The four-channel version is capable of testing four chemistries simultaneously; the dual-channel handles two chemistries at the same time.
Samples which exceed the range of analysis are automatically diluted and reanalysed without operator intervention. By utilizing the automatic reagent sequencing feature, and the multi-test chemical manifold, change-over from one chemistry method to another is automatic.
High sample analysis rates, with improved accuracy and precision, are achieved through combination of electronically controlled bubble injection, bubble-through-the-flowcell, and a new sampling technology.
For additional information on the Technicon TRAACS 800 system, write to The Manager, Wet Chemistry Systems, Technicon

Image analysis
Tracor Northern offers two distinct systems for high-performance image processing and analysis. The TN-5700 System (including the TN-5500 X-ray Analyzer) provides the only image processing system which totally integrates X-ray microanalysis. When X-ray analysis is not required (such as with optical or transmission electron microscopes), the TN-8500 offers image processing at the same high level of performance.
Both systems feature image acquisition using the Kalman technique which has been proven superior to other frame averaging methods. Both systems possess a complete selection of grey level filters, binary filters, grey level transformations, colour scales, image mathematics, Boolean logic and image editing. Feature analysis provides geometric information including area, perimeter, average diameter, length, width, feret diameters and centre, and orienta- Prq,Sep-R The first solid-phase extraction columns designed specifically for robotics.

Model 400
A new approach to digital burettes, a convenient compact, for use with the Computer-Aided Titrimeter or CAT, that extends resolution 0"001 mL, independento f titration mode.

BlueChips
Custom chips for CAT. They automate 25 crucial analytical and QC tests in chemical, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical oil, petrochemical, textile fibre, and food technology laboratories.
VersaBath-S The first shaking-waterbaths with microprocessor control. All parameters are set buy keyboard.
LC/EC wall-jet cells A range of wall-jet cells for HPLC electrochemical detection is now available from Severn Analytical.
The cells form part of the Coulochem system and combine a coulometrically efficient porous graphite screen electrode with an interchangeable wall-jet electrode. This enables reactions to be accomplished on surfaces such as nickel, gold, platinum, glassy carbon and gold/mercury amalgam, thereby widening the range which can now be analysed to include compounds such as benzodiazepines, nitrosamines, organic explosives, aromatic nitro compounds, nitramines and nitrate esters. The cells have a solid state reference/counter electrode which provides rapid stabilization times, and all electrodes are repolished in one simple operation. The incoming chromatograms can be shown in real time on the graphics display offering exceedingly high resolution of 720 x 480 pixels. The TRIO is highly flexible in scrolling and magnifying data in real time or post run mode. The post run display also incorporates base-line and peak identification including graphical comparisons. TRIO uses a digitization technique which integrates incoming signals continuously using a blend of hardware and software.
The data is stored as a series of integrals, the time period of each being dependent on the width of the peaks in the chromatogram.
Each integral is free from mains noise and has a resolution of 106 for each second of integration. This technique has been well proven throughout the lifetime of the existing TRILAB range. An additional feature is that all data points are stored as differences, each data point occupying only the minimum required for its magnitude. This reduces the storage required for each chromatogram to about one half of that otherwise necessary, without affecting the resolution of stored data. TRIO contains three discrete microprocessor systems, with the analysis processor running at 6 MHz.
The raw data is stored within the 200K of internal RAM memory and then subsequently analysed using one of 10 method files that are stored within the 8K of battery backed-up RAM. Many of the advanced features of the TRILAB 2000 and 3000 are available, including the peak-detection algorithm together with the unique graphical base-line definition routine. All standard modes of analysis are available from normalization to internal standard calibration with varying response factors. Results and chromatograms (including base-line) can be printed to either plain paper graphics printer type 2014, inkjet printer type 2023 or a thermal printer/plotter type 2012. For archiving, the raw data and results can be stored on the dual 3"5 in floppy disk option. The data can also be passed to the TRINET Laboratory Information Management System by a state-of-the-art, fibreoptic coupler, capable of transmitting data at 768 K baud.
There is also the novel possibility to plug-in optional library ROMS. Each ROM contains 128 K of useable program storage. A number of programs may be supplied in each ROM and an internal index within the ROM enables TRIO to access each program as required. BASIC is available and GPC, Amino Acid and special calibration packages are being produced. New automated coagulation laboratory The ACL Automated Coagulation Laboratory from Instrumentation Laboratory is essentially two systems The A CL system from Instrumentation Laboratory. The system's multilingual software is available in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish. An on-board, dedicated QC program helps assure consistent accuracy and precision. This includes daily data storage for up to one month, plus the display and plotting of QC data and the calculation of relevant statistics.
in one, performing both clotting and chromogenic assays. It performs all traditional clot-timing analyses, plus colorometric assays using enzymatic substrates.
Its multichannel capabilities allow not only routine screening, but also the special assays necessary to complete a diagnosis.
Because of its exceptional analytical precision and microcentrifugation technology, the system uses one-half to one-fourth the reagent volumes required in other systems. Only 50 to 100 microliters of reagent are needed for any of the tests, about half that required by other systems; precision is high enough to avoid testings. These two improvements significantly lower the cost per test.
(maximum throughout, 216 samples/ h simultaneouslyin 5 min for PT (maximum throughput, 216 samples/h), or a maximum of 9 min for APTT (120 samples/h)..As many as 60 samples may be analysed per hour for PT + FIB/APTT. This amounts to stat speed on batch runs. Fibrinogen can be measured routinely with each PT determination, with fewer manual steps and less reagent.
Concentrations of plasminogen and alpha-2 antiplasmin are also determined to simplify the investigation of fibrinolysis.
A non-volatile memory protects calibration parameters.
The ACL provides quicker coagulation results than other systems. It offers fully automated calibration, reagent and sample loading, analysis, printing and quality control, eliminating such tedious steps as performing manual dilutions.
Up to 18 samples can be analysed simultaneously-in 5 min for PT Extensive instrument self-diagnosis programs help to assure the correct performance of all automated functions.
Or write to Instrumentation Laboratory, International Division,113 Hartwell Avenue, Lexington, Massachusetts 02173, USA.
With the Mettler DL185 drying oven, even strongly bound water, as well as traces from stubborn samples such as plastic granules, can be extracted by heating. The thermally extracted moisture is led to the titrator with dry purge gas. The DL185 is also well suited for samples which react with the titrating solutionvitamin C for example.
Loading is easy: samples are inserted into the large metal crucible through the standard ground connecting piece, or after the locking device has been opened. The metal crucible is then inserted in the heated section of the glass tube by means of the control handle. The preselected temperature can be continuously, adjusted up to 200 C. This corresponds approximately to the actually attainable sample temperature and is one of the reasons why the results are so reproducible. Another reason is the stream of dry purge gas which prevents moisture from penetrating the oven, even when the usually closed system is opened. The oven and the titrator can be standardized with plain water.

Pipetting
The Accuflex-TP pipetting station can be operated by either the IBM personal computer or the BBC microcomputer and is supplied complete with software disk. The program is written in BASIC and can be easily modified to suit the user's requirements. The computer can store in memory the protocols for different immunoassays so that the time for setting up complex assays is dramatically reduced. The Accuflex-TP can accept a wide variety of sample and receiver vessels from micro-titre plates through to standard RIA tubes and larger bottles.
The station can be easily programmed to accept commercial RIA kits, such as the Corning Magic range, without any need to transfer reagents from their original containers.
The sample volume range is from 2 1 to 2 ml, the dispensing volume from 2 ll to 20 ml and the diluent volume from 2 1 to 10 ml with an accuracy of _1% or 0.1 1. The Accuflex can dispense at a rate of 1400 aliquots/h.

Sampling in on-line process analysis
In on-line analysis difficulties are. often experienced in introducing a representative sample to the analyser. Ionics have developed a new sample addition valve for their Model 3000 Digichem process chemical analyser which.-is claimed by the company to overcome such difficulties. The Digichem is used in a 162 variety of industries including petrochemicals, electro-plating, pulp and paper, chloro-alkali, waste water and air pollution control. Built: for 24 h continuous operation it not only reduces the operator's exposure to hazardous materials but also increases the repeatability of the analysis.
The new valve allows the process sample to be continuously recycled.
Designed for reliability and easy maintenance, it consists of only one moving part, including the actuator. This is a shuttle, which, as it changes position, captures a precise sample volume. The sample is then washed by an appropriate diluent into the Digichem's reaction cell. The system contains no peristaltic pumps nor tubing prone to plugging or failure.
Using multiple reagents and various detectors, the Digichem can perform a wide variety of titrimetric, colori- GC workstation with the proven chromatographic precision of the HP 5890 GC instrument. The system has been designed to meet the complex needs of laboratories involved in GC methods development and modification. The instrument's set-up parameters and its operation are controlled from the workstation, which also provides dual-channel data acquisition, disk storage, a full range of data reduction manipulations and report generation.
The system can be used to calculate retention indices and to search an online library data-base for potential matches. This capability, combined with recent HP advances in column technology and with the thermal stability of HP's column ovens, delivers a new level of qualitative information to the gas chromatographer. Commerically available data-bases may be used, or users can develop their own libraries of retention indices.
The workstation has a multiple windowing facility which allows chromatograms to be displayed simultaneously on the screen and directly compared. Addition and subtraction routines may be performed and then displayed graphically; and chromatograms may be overlayed in different colours.
A zoom feature allows small segments of the chromatogram to be expanded to fill the entire screen, thus permitting more detailed exami-nation of specific peaks. During a run, earlier portions of the chromatogram may be recalled and reviewed on screen, with a single soft key used to return to the real-time plot.
The advanced integration algorithm of the system is optimized for most situations.
Interactive software makes it a simple matter to alter the integration parameters as required.
Mass storage of data (up to 55 Mbytes) allows reintegration and replotting to be carried out without having to reinject the sample. Methods and results may, of course, also be stored.
The system's workstation is one of a series newly introduced by Hewlett-Packard and is based on the HP 9000 Series 300 technical computer and a core set of chromatographic software tools. These workstations are currently being made available with HP's range of gas and liquid chromatographs and chromatography/mass spectrometry systems. All share a common approach to method definition, data acquisition, post-run data processing and sequencing for automation. The workstation is .supplied with a monochrome or a colour monitor, OSCA chemical sensing group The Optical Sensors Collaborative Association (OSCA) has now formed a Chemical Sensing Group to coordinate OSCA's activities in this field. The objectives of the Group are to assist the development of chemical sensing technology through the application of electro-optic and fibreoptic techniques, to support research in chemical sensing complementary to work currently in progress elsewhere, and to provide the OSCA membership with information on chemical sensing generally.
The main field ofthe Group's interest is in gas sensing both at point measuring locations and also over distributed areas, particularly for concentrations of methane or other flammable gases. Carbon monoxide in air and in flue gases and, generally, toxic gases, industrial gases and pollutants are also of interest, together with measurement of dissolved species in liquids and also bio-sensing.
OSCA welcomes enquiries from organizations which might like to share in the overall R & D programme, receive copies of reports from previous projects covering surveys, laboratory and demonstration projects, multiplexing and system studies, and participate in the patent and current awareness information services.
New thermoplastic tubing for peristaltic pumps A range ofEsco thermoplastic rubber tubing is now available from Sterilin. Called Plescoprene, the new tubing has exceptional resistance to mechanical action and is ideal for all peristaltic pump applications. Manufactured from food grade material, Plescoprene offers good environmental resistant to heat, cold, ozone and weathering, and has chemical resistance properties similar to neoprene grades of synthetic rubber. It is suitable for continuous running at temperatures of up to 125 C, and for short periods (one week) at 150 C. Repeated sterilization with steam or ethylene oxide poses no problems.
Analysis and quality control literature An Application Study has recently been completed by Paar Scientific and is available free of charge to interested readers in industrial analysis and quality control operations. This latest in the Paar series of study sheets illustrates the application of several Paar density meters to analytical and quality control techniques in the laboratories and production line of a leading toiletries manufacturer-Elida Gibbs Ltd.
There are three main areas of work where the Paar DMA 46 digital density meters in particular are found of special benefit to Elida Gibbs. In the company's Product Control Laboratories for example, they are used to test samples of shampoo and aerosols at raw material and final product stages. In the Special Analytical Laboratory they are used as a support measure for various stages of the stringent quality assurance operation.
The portable version DMA35 is also regularly in use for lineside checking, for raw material tests, including perfumes, and for inspection personnel to carry around for sample testing during production.
Enhanced graphics capability on IBM PC infra-red data-station Spectrafile IR, software that turns the IBM PC or approved compatible into an infra-red data-station, now supports high-resolution colour graphics. This will be of particular interest to spectroscopists in quality control who wish to match samples versus standards quicklyand unequivocally. The new colour option doubles the normal IBM colour resolution to 640 x 400 pixels.
Another recently introduced graphics feature is the ability to define and magnify up to nine discrete wavenumber regions or 'windows' within a spectrum. The user may save sets of windows to disk, reloading them subsequently whenever required.
Again with QC specl:roscopists in mind, Spectrafile has been equipped with routines for creating and searching libraries of full deresolved spectra. This system has the advantage that library spectra may be recalled immediately after a search for a Micro-2-Courtcloud's pH/ion meter. Priced at around 850, the instrument has three input sockets for electrodes which can be calibrated independently and addressed from the front panel. There are two LED displays, one of which shows continuously the temperature measured by the standard temperature probe. This is used to make automatic temperature compensated measurements. The other display, accurate to 0.1 m V, shows the measured value which may be pH manual mode, pH A TC mode, m V relative, ion concentrations in ppm, Molar or px units. In pH and Ion modes, the electrode slope is calculated and can be displayed to monitor the performance of electrodes.
The sophisticated software has many 'input-check' features which prevents incorrect or inappropriate values being entered. An audio feedback informs the user that an input or command has been rejected. A 'check' mode is available to recap any calibration data in the memories while a unique 'key-board lock' feature allows all non-essential keys to be disabled after calibration is complete. This prevents any inadvertent data entries being made. Battery back-up retains calibration data on 'power off'for up to seven days. Details  PXA/1 is a complete system, including Si(Li) detector and all operating software. It utilizes pulse processor technology and operating routines to those in more sophisticated systems.
However, a major advantage is that the system uses the industry standard MS-DOS operating system-with 3"5 in microfloppy disks-and can be used for other purposes-word processing, spreadsheet analysis of results, or running other specific educational software packages. X-ray microanalysis system A low cost X-ray microanalysis system has been developed by Link Systems Ltd. The company is promoting the PXA/1 system to costconscious industrial and educational users, taking advantage of the proven 16 bit systemarchitecture and attractive ergonomics of the Apricot PC.
The pulse processor and its interface to the microcomputer are housed in a single unit; the interface is designed in such a way to preserve data integrity with minimum system dead time. The analyser is menu driven utilizing a high resolution colour display and remote keyboard linked to the computer by an infra-red beam. Major features include a 2 x 2 K data memory with 32 bit capacity, ability to store data on disk, bar and dot display for spectrum comparison and element identification by KLM markers. Multiple ROI windows may be viewed, calibration and acquisition parameters displayed and the display may be operated in a split-screen mode. A range of infra-red gas analysers has been introduced by Draeger Safety, Blyth, Northumberland, for applications requiring a tough, portable, battery-powered gas analyser for the measurement of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and other hydrocarbons.

More informationfrom Eric
Called the Infralarm, the system isjqtted withan audible alarm that is internally adjustable across the range of the instrument, and has an internal mute switch. With optional probes and filters the Infralarm provides a low-cost analyser for use in furnace atmospheres, stacks and vehicle engine exhaust measurements. Without the probes, applications exist in agriculture, controlled atmosphere chambers, power generation and the nuclear industry as well as in other areas. Details from Draeger Safety, PO Box 4, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 1HA, UK. Tel.: 0670 352602.
Intelligence for measurement control Drew Scientific has developed an intelligent control and data logging system for such industrial applications as brewing, food, chemicals, water and pilot plant laboratories. The system provides a comprehensive software suite, low-cost entry, 'building block' method with board level growth principles.
The building block approach makes use of distributed plant interface computers linked to a master computer which provide the overall intelligence to the operations. Each distributed interface computer offers up to 360 input or output channels with control signals or measurements from temperature, pressure, position and speed sensors, load cells or strain gauges. Additionally, the system incorporates SPL--the Sequence Programming Language--which removes the need for operator training and gives facilities for simple alteration of process commands. SPL can support and control up to five distributed interface computers and allows flexible control of user definable multiple sequence operations and profiled set-point control.
A comprehensive alarm system is available for continual checking of plant activities and can be made dependent on measurement levels or digital signal inputs.
Collecting data is simple, logging digital or analogue data on a time and rate ofchange basis. Once collected onto the hard disk, the data is available for report presentation from the data-base or via a spreadsheet, which allows users to configure reports themselves providing flexible manipulation and presentation of the logged data. When used for process and sequence control, real time colour mimics can be added for easier operator comprehension of the plant processes under control.