New products

Spectrum Instrumentation has announced a new digital input option (M4i.44xx-DigSMA) for its popular high-speed and high-resolution series of PCIe digitizers. The option consists of an additional module that sits beside the existing digitizer card to provide eight additional digital input lines. The digital input module shares a common clock and trigger with the base card so that both the digital and analog inputs are fully synchronous. This makes the combination ideal for a wide variety of mixed signal testing applications.

depressant drugs (Amitriptyline HCL, Nortriptyline HCL, Imipramine HCL, Desipramine HCL). For this study, samples containing these drugs were run for five consecutive days. As demonstrated in table 1, this extraction technique yielded excellent day to day reproducibility. This method uses Zymark's RapidTrace(R) SPE Workstation to perform the sample extraction through the SPE column. Treatment of the sample before and after the extraction is described, the automated steps of the extraction are outlined, and recovery data are shown. The RapidTrace SPE Workstation was designed to provide high sample throughput, reproducible results and the tools for SPE methods development. A Rapid-Trace Workstation contains up to 10 individual modules, which run a single procedure or multiple procedures across the workstation. The high sample throughput is obtained through 'batch processing' of samples, allowing 40-100 samples to be extracted per hour. A high level of accuracy and reproducibility is achieved by precisely controlling the flow rates for all steps of the SPE process: column conditioning, loading and sample, rinsing the column, and eluting the components of interest. The RapidTrace for Windows TM software can facilitate methods development allowing the user to write one procedure, then easily varying parameters, e.g. column type, reagents and flow rates. The RapidTrace Workstation is ideal in the Drug Metabolism/Pharmacokinetic, Toxicology or Forensic Testing Lab.

Robotic handling for dangerous substances---an unbeatable combination
When it comes to weighting equipment, METTLER TOLEDO is unbeatable, says Peerless Systems, which has an enviable reputation for manufacturing robotic systems to handle radioactive and other dangerous substances injurious to human health.
Since its inception in 1982, the Washington, Tyne and Wear, based company has always employed METTLER TOLEDO's advanced weighting technology when supplying equipment for use in radioactive environments.
"One of our specialities is building systems for duties in environmentally unfriendly locations", explained managing director, Moira Lamb. "We have never used anything other than METTLER TOLEDO balances because of their consistent quality and reliability", she remarked, adding that some of its original systems still in regular use utilize balance components that are now 15 or 16 years old.
Over the years, Peerless has purchased a succession of PE, PM, PG, SG and other METTLER TOLEDO models which have been stripped down and split into two separate stainless steel enclosures" one housing the weigh cell, the other housing the major electronics. The two units are interconnected by up to 12m of screened cable. This configuration allows only the weigh cell unit, which has been designed to minimize the ingress of particular matter, to be exposed to hazardous environments, while the electronics can be located in a remote, clean area. Numerous systems have been supplied to the nuclear, pharmaceuticals and chemical industries.
"We have established a very specialized niche market and as far as we know, nobody else makes systems like ours", she said. "METTLER TOLEDO has played an important part in our development and will no doubt continue to be our preferred supplier of balances for many years to come." For further information, contact: Roger .Norton, Norton Harris Partners, 26 Church Street, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 1A U, UK.
New chrom perfect for HP gas chromatograms data sheet now available from justice laboratory software (UK) The superior data integration and report generation capabilities of the Chrom Perfect Chromatography Data System have now been combined with instrument control 46 features for use with Hewlett-Packard 6890 and 5890 gas chromatographs. Chrom Perfect eliminates the limitations placed on the lab by the Hewlett-Packard Interface Bus (HPIB). A single Chrom Perfect data system can acquire data from multiple instruments from any manufacturer, while digitally acquiring and controlling an HP 6890 and/or 5890 from the same PC platform.
The basic system can handle two chromatographs per PC. Upgrades allow you to handle four or eight GCs with a total of 16 detectors. Each GC can have its own method, printer and data directory. You see real-time chromatographs for all active detectors. A simulation of the GC front panel allows you to control the instrument from your PC. You can remotely control all temperatures, pressures and set-points from your PC. The twochromatograph version can be run in lap-top computers. It uses standard COM ports found in most lap-tops, no special cards are required.
Justice Laboratory Software (UK) offers the most comprehensive line of high technology software products for your analytical laboratory. From NT-based client server chromatography systems, to single user basic data systems, Justice Laboratory Software (UK) meets the demanding needs of chromatography applications. Our products offer multi-vendor instrument interfacing and distributed data processing for total integration of your lab.
For more information, contact: Justice Laboratory Software (UK) Justice Laboratory Software (UK) announces a fullfeatured Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) software package that is fully integrated with Chrom Perfect TM for Windows. With three modes of operation, the software allows you to retrieve a chromatogram collected by Chrom Perfect and produce SEC plots and reports interactively. It also allows you to produce reports and plots interactively after each run or by batch reprocessing a series of runs. Specifications come from a SEC method file that the chemist prepares ahead of time.
The SEC/GPC software package supports a wide variety of calibrations including: narrow standard, broad standard and universal calibration. The software fits the calibration curve with a polynomial up to degree 5. This software can transfer plots and reports to other software, e.g. EXCEL, Lotus 1-2-3 or most word processing programs. It leaves SEC results in ASCII file format for transfer to your word processor or desktop publishing software. SEC provides a wide variety of calibrations and reports, and produces accurate and reproducible measurements of molecular weight.
Justice Laboratory Software (UK) offers the most comprehensive line of high technology software products for your analytical laboratory. From NT-based client server chromatography systems, to single user basic data systems, Justice Laboratory Software (UK) meets the demanding needs of chromatography applications. Our products offer multi-vendor instrument interfacing and distributed data processing for total integration of your The P S Analytical Sir Galahad system has been specifically designed for the determination of mercury in gaseous environments. One of the important areas where this instrument can provide an immediate advantage is in the Natural Gas Industry. Several major disasters have arisen due to damage caused by mercury contamination. Measuring the presence and form of mercury is therefore important to the industry. The Sir Galahad system offers significant advantages, since the sample itself is a natural gas of varying compositions often at high pressures, i.e. greater than 2500psig, providing a truly representative sample in what can be seen as a difficult procedure. P S Analytical has recently introduced a specifically designed pressure let-down system which provides the ideal interface between the high pressure gas lines and the Sir Galahad system. The PSA 10.537 Pressure Let-Down System is a compact unit that requires no services other than a simple link to the sample line. It can operate at pressures of up to 3000psig and provides a reproducible sample at atmospheric pressure over the standard Amasil TM traps of the Sir Galahad. Depending on the contaminant level in the natural gas, the sampling period can be adjusted to provide an optimal measurement. The samples are collected and the trap transferred to the static head of the Sir Galahad prior to measurement in the normal manner. Using the above technology, the PSA analytical team can quickly survey gas supply lines either on-shore or off-shore. This carefully designed Sir Galahad II interface therefore provides the necessary and complete control of sampling prior to analysis. Over the past few months, P S Analytical has received approval for trade marks for the Merlin, Excalibur and Sir Galahad instruments. The style and presentation of these trademarks are set out below. Due to the popularity of these names, the trademarks include other symbols associated with the PSA product line. The P S Analytical Merlin atomic fluorescence detector was the world's first lull automatic mercury analyser. The PSA Excalibur extended the range of analytes to the hydride-forming elements, specifically arsenic, selenium and antimony. The recently introduced Millennium range of products are specifically designed systems which provide routine analytical measurements for mercury, arsenic, selenium and antimony at ultra-trace levels, and offer a viable measurement tool for these analytes between 0.1 ppt for mercury and 5 ppt for the hydride-forming elements.
The Sir Galahad II has been specifically developed to anlyse mercury in a variety of gaseous environments, including air and natural gas. P S Analytical has earned a world-wide reputation for pertbrming the latter application, particularly in difficult samples and sites, e.g. Natural Gas platforms. Recently, a new pressure letdown system has also been introduced which overcomes many of the inherent problems associated with sampling natural gas at high pressure in a truly representative manner.
These trademarks will further cement the reputation of P S Analytical's products which have followed the The aim is to allow visitors to the site to review the products and services available from P S Analytical and to provide easy access to promotional and applications material.
The highly successful Millennium range of products, the Millennium Merlin and Millennium Excalibur, are selfcontained systems which provide the sample preparation and transfer to specific atomic fluorescence detectors (AFS). The detectors offer significant improvements in detection capabilities for mercury, arsenic, selenium and antimony with outstanding reliability. Surf the web and visit our site. Why not arrange a demonstration of a Millennium system, with the help of PSA and their worldwide distributor network, you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to set up and achieve the detection levels quoted. Although compact in size, the instrument is big on performance. It meets all DIN Class measuring requirements and delivers accuracies to 1% with forces of 2 N and testing velocities of between 0.5 and 500 mm/min. The application range of the EZTest is very wideincluding food processing, packaging, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and electronics-and it is suitable both as a stand-alone instrument for occasional testing and as a support system for testing laboratories with larger instruments who do not want to constantly readjust their main analyser for small force measurements. Pull-, pressure-, three-and four-point stretch tests and adhesion tests can all be handled by the new instrument, and a number of different tensile strength tools are also available for specific applications.
Simple to use, EZTest is designed for one-button operation and is equipped with built-in programmable control. There is a printer port for production of documentation and the instrument can also be connected to a computer to gether testing protocols, statistics, etc. and linked directly to MS-ACCESS.
A clear arrangement of all screens is provided by WinAGS LITE software running on Windows 95. Optical help functions are available at all stages, displaying non-conventional sample geometry and, via icons, mode of operation. All graphics are displayed in real-time.
Each newly developed method is automatically entered into a database for later recall as needed. All routine parameters can be pre-determined for data evaluation and recalled after new data acquisition during testing, and the software includes a statistical package for reanalysis.
'The EZTest is good news for customers who are reluctant to purchase a large testing instrument', said Shimadzu's Brian Miller. 'We have taken some of the best innovations to come out of miniaturisationnow a major trend in materials testing-and incorporated them in a simple-to-use, highly effective universal testing instrument which has a multitude of industrial and research applications'. Building on its experience as the first manufacturer of thermal analysis instrumentation, Shimadzu has developed the DSC-60 differential scanning calorimeter, a new analyser within the popular TA-60 thermal analysis range.
The DSC-60 offers high sensitivity, low noise levels and excellent signal resolution, all within a compact, modern design, which also features an integrated cooling system and can be equipped with an autosampler for routine analyses in food, ceramics, petrochemical, plastics, adhesives, pharmaceutical, coatings, environmental and other typical application areas.
The system runs on TA-60WS software, a 32-bit Windows-based enhancement of the TA-50WS package, which has been designed for greater user-friendliness and easy maintenance.
Automatic evaluation algorithms have been incorporated to simplify routine analyses and smoothing functions, baseline corrections and calibration can all be pre-set according to specific laboratory methods, creating a onebutton system for instrument operation.
'It is our intention to develop, enhance and improve the The pectin content and the proportion of fruit water to fruit and sugar content are all factors in determining the 'jellification' point of the fruit compote. The fruits show no consistent characteristics, due to different factor, e.g. location, hours of sun, ripeness and weather during Shimadzu Micro-system offers new analytical benefits A powerful new micro-and capillary option for the LC-10A and LC-10A VP HPLC Series has been launched by Shimadzu in response to the growing number of chromatographic applications using columns with an internal diameter of less than mm, from areas. e.g. biotechnology.
By upgrading a conventional HPLC system to a Micro-Workstation, users benefit from a raft of new advantages, including highly efficient handling of small sample volumes, flow rates from 50 nl/min to 10 ml/min, fast equilibration characteristics for fast gradients, superior RSD values, better UV-sensitivity (noise <30gAU), and flexible use of DAD and fluorescence detector, all with greater user-friendliness at an attractive price. One further, very powerful benefit of the Shimadzu Micro-Workstation is its gradient reproducibility, which is currently unsurpassed by any other micro-system. 'The move towards capillary HPLC has resulted from the need to decrease solvent consumption and to handle UDS 200 Universal Dynamic Spectrometer.
harvest time, which varies due to a Europe-wide procurement basis.
Ingredients that influence the jellification point are highly concentrated and expensive, requiring exact proportioning. Even small mistakes in amount can have a lasting impact on the viscosity of the fruit jelly. Once batches of 1000-10 000 kg are produced and cooled down, the viscosity of the fruit jelly has to be as originally specified, as corrections cannot be later rectified.
PAAR has now introduced a pressure-measuring cell, combined with a UDS200 rheometer, designed specifically to determine almost all rheological data relevant for practice and research. The PAAR cell accounts for the raw tbod material under processing conditions by simulating production pressures of up to 6 bar and temperatures from 10 C to + 150 C.
The data determine the jellification point of the fruit compote before production starts, so loss of taste of the fruit content due to over-processing or too high temperature is virtually eliminated.
PAAR can therefore meet the demands of producers, e.g. manufacturers of ice cream, who insist only the correct quality of fruit concentrate is supplied to them, otherwise the fruit goes to soft drinks manufacturers, where the price of supply is lower.
For further information and reader enquiries, contact Mr Bryan "Allegro" automation system will be used as a "rapidly re-configurable assay machine" initially capable of delivering over 100 000 assays per day under the demanding extreme usage conditions.' The system, which uses robust, proven technology, consists of inter-linked modular workstations in a unique assembly-line architecture. With advanced technology from both organizations, the capacity of the 'Allegro' system is expected to be expanded to 400 000 assays per day. Ultimately, the Allegro automation engine may be coupled to a broad range of Perkin-Elmer proprietary technology platlbrms including RNA quantitation, 50 mass spectrometry, static cytometry and ultra-miniature assays.
Kevin Hrusovsky, Zymark's president and chief executive officer, said, 'We're very happy to collaborate with Tropix. The company asked us for an ideal platform to incorporate future innovations in their assay chemistry and a system that can be easily and rapidly reconfigured to meet their customers' changing needs while assuring future compatibility with advances in liquid handling and emerging low volume assay technology. We are very pleased that Tropix has joined the ranks of other "Allegro" development collaborators such as R. W.
Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. "Allegro" will provide the throughput, reliability, and flexibility to meet the demanding challenges of their customers' drug discovery requirements.' Zymark Corportion, headquartered in Hopkinton, MA, is a worldwide leader in laboratory automation for pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications. Zymark serves the worldwide pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. The company employs about 300 people in the USA, Canada and Europe, and has authorized sales and service distributors throughout the rest of the world.
Tropix, located in Bedford, MA, is a world leader in the development, manufacture and sale of chemiluminescence detection technology for the life sciences. The company's Xtreme Screen program provides a threetiered approach to delivering advanced chemiluminescent screening technologies. First, it provides proprietary chemiluminescent dioxetane screening reagents to meet the stringent demands of yielding high quality data across a wide range of assay types in a single platform at extreme throughput levels in a cost-effective manner. Second, it rapidly develops custom screening assays for deployment on screening systems at the user's site. Third, it is a complete service to perform advanced screens at rates above 100000 samples per day with in-house or customer-supplied libraries, bringing extremely rapid turnaround on large or small screening projects. The combination of the three elements significantly contributes to accelerating the drug discovery timelines of pharmaceutical company clients. Certain statements in this press release are forwardlooking, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases, e.g.
'believe', 'expect', 'anticipate', 'should', 'planned', 'estimated' and 'potential', among others. These forward-looking statements are based upon Perkin-Elmer's current expectations. high-throughput screening". Many organizations engaged in drug discovery work have talked about performing pharmaceutical screening assays at this level of throughput, but only Tropix has delivered. In addition, we performed the work with real-time data acquisition and analysis'. Dr Michelle Palmer, Tropix's director of pharmaceutical services, said 'Performing this number of kinase assays in 24 hours would have previously required nearly 15 conventional high-throughput robotic screen-ing systems, or taken 15 times as long. The throughput capability we possess enables us to perform screens extremely quickly, providing our customers with many benefits beyond speed. One such benefit is maintaining assay performance during a screen which requires reagents that are only stable for short periods of time'. Tropix expects to further increase its laboratory throughput when the Allegro system is expanded to handle up to 400 000 assays per day. The src kinase assay in this screen was designed under Tropix's Xtreme Screen TM program, utilizing the company's proprietary adamantyldioxetane luminescence technology, which enables detection of biological substances at extremely low levels. The Xtreme Screen TM program offers pharmaceutical customers high-throughput drug discovery-screening services employing high-perlbrmance assays using the company's technology. The sensitive kinase assays performed to reach this milestone were measured using two roboticscapable Tropix TR71 frM microplate luminometers integrated into the Allegro TM automation platform.
Zymark Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, developed the Allegro TM automation platform as part of a collaboration with Tropix. Kevin Hrusovsky, Zymark's president and chief executive officer, said, 'We're very proud to have played a role in Tropix's achievement of a thousand plates in one day. The Allegro TM platform is one of several key technologies we have developed over the past 18 months to fundamentally boost the speed and enhance the effectiveness of drug discovery. The quick success of the tropix installation reinforces Zymark's commitment to deliver "real results now" '.
New brochure on Thermo Jarrell Ash's Atomscan

Advantage series spectrometer
Franklin, MA--August 1998: Thermo Jarrell Ash Corporation (Franklin, MA) has available a new four colour, eight page brochure on their new sequential ICP spectrometers. The new Atomscan Advantage employs an innovative, high-performance optical design. A highdensity composite grating delivers high resolution and performance over the entire wavelength range (160-900nm). Two detectors with different spectral ranges are optimized to provide maximum sensitivity for both low UV elements (e.g. A1 at 167nm) and near IR elements (K at 766nm). At the heart of the optical design is TJA's exclusive galvanometer grating drive that provides speed, accuracy and the ultimate in reliability. The galvanometer grating drive has been utilized in all Thermo Jarrell Ash sequential instruments for over 20 years, proving itself in millions of elemental determinations. The positioning accuracy of the galvanometer drive will never deteriorate with use, no matter what the demands.
The Atomscan Advantage may be configured as an axial or radial instrument. The radial configuration is preferred when analysing a wide variety of sample types due to the freedom from matrix effects. Axial viewing provides the ultimate in sensitivity when detection limit performance is key.
The Atomscan Advantage operates using Thermo-SPEC(R)/PMT software, designed to fully control the analytical process without fully controlling the operator. All aspects of torch operation, including nebulizer pressure, auxiliary argon flow and RF power are controlled by the host software to ensure reproducible results. It is designed to run using the familiar Windows 98 operating system with a common look and feel, and includes the capability to export data to any popular database manager or spreadsheet program. Salisbury-based C.I. Electronics launches an innovative water sorption analyser which automates gravimetric study of the water sorption behaviour of powdered, fibrous, liquid or solid samples to quickly and economically provide precise results in the chemical industry.
Based on microbalance technology developed by a world leader in its field, the CISorp Water Sorption Analyser represents a major advance over previous analytical methods. In contrast to established techniques which are typically slow, labour intensive, and potentially inaccurate, CISorp allows unattended execution of complex test sequences with high accuracy and dramatically improved productivity.
CISorp measures moisture adsorption and desorption isotherms, plus kinetic and temperature data for evaluation of important physical and chemical parameters in research and development, quality control, and determination of safe storage and handling conditions for materials. Operating at ambient pressures, CISorp is particularly suited to the study of hydrated samples which generate high vapour pressure and cannot be studied under vacuum.
Water sorption studies can reveal crucial information about samples which may not be obtained in any other way, and highlight subtle differences between compounds which may escape other analytical techniques.
With its flexibility of operation, CISorp yields information, e.g. the general water sorption characteristics of a sample, the physical and chemical affinity of sample surfaces for water, the presence of surface pores, irreversible change resulting from water sorption, special features, e.g. transitions at particular humidities, variations between samples and the effects of mixing them, the effect of compacting powders, the temperature dependence of water sorption, and the thermodynamic and kinetics quantities of water sorption. CISorp incorporates two microbalances in a chamber in which temperature can be controlled in the range 5-65C with -t-0.1C accuracy, and relative humidity (RH) in the range 0-100% with 0.1% resolution. A test sequence can be programmed with a large number of experimental steps, at which temperature, humidity or equilibration time may be specified, and the weight of the samples measured with 0.1 gg resolution. The dual balance arrangement enables simultaneous analysis of two samples or comparison of a sample against a standard. PC Windows-based software controls data acquisition, display and printout of results. Tabular and graphical displays can be viewed in real-time, and recalled for review or printout after a test. It is called the Hydrogen Mate DI Water System which has been designed for the sole purpose of economically producing high-purity deionized water for use with all Whatman hydrogen generators. The unit will remove organics, phosphates, chlorine and essentially all ionizable constituents from the water supply. It has an easy-fill dispensing gun and there is a visual indication for cartridge replacement. The Hydrogen Mate is complete and ready to install, and simply operates by piping into the laboratory water supply not exceeding 34.5 bar. It achieves a maximum flow rate of 1/min. The compact unit weights only 5 kg, and its dimensions are 311 wide x 457 high x 73 mm deep.
Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologic, BMBF) for the formulation of new research projects concerned with the use and application of world-wide information for education, further education and innovative processes. Of the 251 applications submitted, five winners were selected by the BMBF based on their innovative content, including the Fiz Chemic Berlin project 'Vernetztes Studium--Chemie' ('Chemistry Networks for Education'), which describes a new form of studies in chemistry. The five winning projects will be supported financially by the BMBF for the next five years.
The 'Chemistry Networks for Education' project foresees the development of interactive 'knowledge building blocks' and information tools largely based on multimedia technology, which will then be made available both via the Internet and as an in-house version. The material itself will be produced in the tbrm of so-called 'knowledge modules'.
In all, 16 professors from 13 German universities located in eight of the Federal German states will be working on the project under the expert guidance of Fiz Chemic Berlin. The ultimate goal is to create an electronic platform which will, in optimized networked form, contain all knowledge in chemistry available world-wide and will be accessible by those outside traditional campus environments. Thus, because of the modular character of the information on offer, it will not only be well-suited to the needs of university underand postgraduates in chemistry and its related sciences, but also to students at polytechnics and colleges of further education, for job trainees and school students. Even the protssional or private information requirements of persons not directly concerned with chemistry will be met by the system.
The concept of 'Chemistry Networks for Education' also encompasses a model proposed by the German Chemical Society (Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker, GDCh) in conjunction with the German universities for a reformation of university chemistry education in Germany, which was proposed in a joint memorandum in June 1996 as the so-called 'Wfirzburger Model'.
The project aims at improving education in chemistry by making use of all modern methods of transmitting information. Designed to supplement and support conventional forms of study, it thus employs electronic media to rapidly integrate new material and intbrmation into study courses. It also facilitates the use of up-to-date information available from databases and employs novel presentation forms, e.g. participation in interactive lectures mediated via the Internet or the carrying out of 'experiments' in virtual laboratories.  (180) tagged peptides, producing MS-MS data. However, whereas the Edman technique produces a single sequence from the N terminal end, MS-MS of peptides almost always results in sequence information fi'om both the N and C terminal end of the molecule within the same spectrum. Data interpretation is, therefore, more complicated since these opposing ion series must be disentangled, however, when rationalized, the complementary N and C terminal ion series can afford a 'double confirmation' of amino acid sequence.
The new automated MS-MS procedure described in this publication alleviates the complexity of disentangling N and C terminal MS-MS sequence data. De novo sequence interpretation of MS-MS spectra may be facilitated by tagging (180) the peptide in a way which will identil) the sequence ions containing the C terminal end of the molecule. If the digestion is carried out in a (1:1) mixture of 160/180 enriched HO, endoproteinases will incorporate either a 16OH or 18OH into the peptide, resulting in a characteristic isotopic 'signature' in the mass spectra.
Achievable sensitivity has been increased by the recent design and construction of a hybrid quadrupole time-offlight (Q-Tof) tandem mass spectrometer, the advent of which has also seen improved resolution and mass meas-Micromass hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-Tof) tandem mass spectrometer. urement accuracy for MS-MS data. When used in conjunction with nanoelectrospray ionization, high quality sequencing data from in-gel digested 1D bands and 2D spots is readily produced. Furthermore, computer software may be used to search the spectra for these 160/180 multiplets and automatically infer amino acid sequences.
Having already proved itself a major competitor in the field of proteomics, Micromass' latest efforts to improve and facilitate high throughput]automated peptide sequencing techniques is further evidence of its all embracing biopharmaceutical strategy--across the continuum from DNA to drug product! The latest product off the launch pad at PAAR Scientific is the DMA 4500 bench-top density meter for liquids and gases, offering high accuracy, fast measurement and a lower cost per measurement, plus it is easy to use and is highly versatile. DMA 4500 is completely new with a combination of the latest developments in operating software, user interface and measuring cells. PAAR claim the instrument is more accuracy than any four-place digital density meter on the market, featuring an accuracy of 0.00005g/cm3, at an economical price.
The new software will meet the most demanding requirements. All common concentration tables including Brix, alcohol, acids and bases, are already integrated in the instrument to provide automatic concentration calculation. Even the API software is permanently stored, so that the density measured at any temperature from 0 to 90C is automatically compensated to the reference temperature of 15C or 60F. For uncommon density applications, the flexible software lets the user enter his]her own tables or formulae very easily using the instrument keys, or, even more conveniently using a PC keyboard. The keyboard connector can also be used to attach a bar code reader for safe and convenient entry of sample names and numbers. The DMA 4500 features a reference oscillator for exceptional long-term stability and fast measuring results within 1-2 min. After changing the measuring tempera-PAAR Scientific new bench-top density meter.
ture, accurate measurements can be performed immediately the target temperature is reached. The powerful solid-state thermostat handles temperatures from 0 to 90C. A platinum temperature probe is built into the density sensor to provide accurate sample temperatures.
Viscosity-related errors inherent to all older models of density meters using the vibrating U-tube principle, are automatically eliminated by the new instrument. The viscosity influence is automatically corrected by determining the viscosity-related damping of the U-tube's oscillation. The DMA 4500 therefore meets even the most recent ASTM standards for the petroleum industry.
Serial interfaces for printer connection, PC or LIMS are standard features. Automatic sample chargers for fully automated sample filling and cleaning are useful options. PAAR believe the DMA 4500 will be a very successful instrument answering the needs of users now and into the next millennium.

New Metrohm 766 Ion Chromatography Sample Processor
The 766 Ion Chromatography Sample Processor from Metrohm is capable of handling sample volumes up to 11 gl, and thus compliments the Metrohm 750 Sample Charger who's maximum sample volume is 700 ml. The 127 sample of the 766 are arranged in three rows, which guarantees easy access and unrestricted programming.
Two additional rinse positions allow sample introduction free from cross-contamination, even with a wide variety of sample matrices.
The sample vials are made of polypropylene and these can be heretically sealed. The needle on the 766IC Sample processor penetrates the cap of the sample vessel and the integrated pump conveys the sample through the sample loop to the injector. A sequence can be pro-grammed such that an air bubble is inserted in front of the sample to prevent cross-contamination. The 766IC Sample processor processes not only the normal sample series, but can also be used for sample enrichment with pre-columns, for operations involving the 754 Dialysis Unit as well as in a parallel system, e.g.
for the simultaneous determination of anions and cations.
For further information please contact Metrohm UK, Tel. 01280 824 824.
Auto self-cleaning dissolved oxygen monitor Tried and tested in the USA for over seven years, and claimed to be up to 50% cheaper than its rivals, the first auto self-cleaning dissolved oxygen monitor has now been launched in the UK by ATi (UK) Ltd. Their Auto-Clean DO2 equipment is built to perform in the most demanding environments with minimal operator attention. The applications are many and varied including brewing, river monitoring-and fish farming, chemical processing, paper and pulp production, together with sewage and industrial effluent treatment.
In operation, oxygen diffuses through a Teflon membrane in the galvanic sensor which triggers a small electrical current proportional to the amount of dissolved oxygen concentration. A water temperature measurement is also taken and is used to adjust the sensor signal. The result is a dissolved oxygen measurement that is accuracy over an operating range of 0-50C.
The Auto-Clean DO2 with a 5mm membrane has a standard measurement range of 0-20.00ppm, with a response time of 90% in less than 180s. Sensitivity is 0.01 ppm with repeatability of-t-0.05 ppm and an optional measurement range of 0-40.00ppm is also available.
Because there is always direct contact between the sensor membrane and the liquid media being measured, there is a uniform oxygen transfer resulting in a true read-out of dissolved oxygen content. In addition, more accurate and consistent monitoring is achieved because the unit is also programmed to automatically clean itself, reducing maintenance procedures and increasing performance. Cleaning of the sensor in situ is achieved with a blast of high-pressure air from an internal compressor. This removes biological growth and other contaminants from the surface of the sensor membrane. The cleaning frequency can be programmed from as little as once daily up to once every 2 h to cater for varying conditions. Each cleaning cycle lasts approximately 3 min, during which time the monitor output and alarm contacts are held at pre-cycle values to eliminate false dissolved oxygen readings being registered. This also prevents inadvertent triggering of an alarm relay which actuates on either low or high dissolved oxygen levels, or the failure of the control system to maintain dissolved oxygen concentrations at predetermined values. The cleaning procedure is both efficient and effective with nothing to clog, break or wear out. It eliminates the maintenance and repair work associated with other less The new Auto-Clean DO2 dissolved oxygen monitor from A Ti ( UK) Ltd which features efficient and effective compressed air cleaning. effective cleaning systems which use grindstones or brushes. It also eliminates contaminant build-up which cannot be successfully removed by chlorine gas treatments as employed with some other manufacturers' products.
Installation of the equipment is both quick and simple. Special adaptors are supplied for connecting the sensor to standard 1" conduit or pipe and then clamping it securely to a standard handrail system. The NEMA 4X monitor and cleaner package can also be handrail-fitted using supports provided, or wall mounted if more convenient. Power requirements are 110Vac at 50/60Hz, 300Va maximum with an optional 220Vac model also available. Operating temperatures are -20C to +52C, with the sensor rated for 0-50C.. Operating humidity is 0-99% non-condensing. New software package enables chemists to combine structural drawing with spectral interpretation Chemists can now predict C-13 NMR shifts, MS fragmentation patterns and IR band correlations from a chemical structure using a single software package. Sadtler Suite TM combines the latest versions of IR SearchMaster, IR Mentor and ChemWindow to allow retrieval, interpretation and presentation of results, working from either a drawn structure or spectral data.
By seamlessly integrating prediction, search and drawing sol, ware, Sadtler Suite enables chemists to annotate and publish spectral data, chromatograms and peak tables in reports alongside chemical structures.
An IR database, containing 2500 verified compounds, is included in the package to save time when finding matching spectra. IR Mentor Pro--with over 200 functional groups and 700 interpretation frequencies--provides a powerful tool for speeding up IR analysis.
Chromatograms, IR, NMR and MS spectra can be imported into ChemWindow Spectroscopy, to annotate with structures, peak tables and other custom features. ChemWindow also offers comprehensive drawing capabilities to create 3D presentations and 2D structures.
Sadtler Suite is the first software package to enable the seamless integration of all these processes with the ability to combine data from many different laboratory instru- An 'electronic nose' enables more consistent quality of packaging boards A new instrumental analysis system, which evaluates the sensory properties of packaging boards, is intended to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the paperboard quality control at Finnish Enso Paperboards.
The system, called electronic nose, will be taken into operation in 1998 as a further quality control tool at the company's Imatra mill. It is a development of an A new instrumental analysis system, called the electronic nose, will be put into operation by Finnish Enso Paperboards in order to guarantee consistent quality of packaging paperboards.
The electronic nose will complement regular test methods, e.g. sensory test panels, says chemist Tarja Miettinen, responsible for the laboratory analyses.
instrument, MDG-1, which was originally constructed in Finland for military use to detect chemical warfare agents.
To a great extent, the analysis system will be used for the company's Enso Performa paperboard, which is aimed at food, sweets and tobacco applications with high demands on odour and taste neutral packagings.
"The electronic nose mimics biological olfactory systems by processing signals from different kinds of sensors with sophisticated software. Unlike the human sense of smell, instrumental sensors are objective and resistant to fatigue. This makes the quality control system simpler and also more accurate and etticient", says Dr Henry Lindell at Enso Research Centre. The new analysis system will be used as a complement to the present measurement methods, e.g. sensory evaluation by trained test panels, the Robinson test and gas chromatographic analyses. More advanced analyses, using GC]MS (gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer), are carried out at Enso Oyj's Research Centre in Imatra.
"The basic idea in the use of the electronic nose is to teach the system the typical odour of each board grade. After the teaching process, the electronic nose recognizes samples having different chemical characteristics from teaching material", explains Dr Henry Lindell. Increasingly, demanding customer requirements in both the industrial and personal care areas, as well as the growing importance of environmental considerations, are encouraging change right across the sector. Mirroring the trend in the rest of the industry, M&A activity has been intense over the past year or so as we move towards fewer but larger players. The sector is consolidating in an attempt to improve its profitability, a phenomenon seen throughout the speciality sector which is making life harder for the smaller player.
Food additives: The market for food additives is characterized by increasing sophistication with demand mainly propelled by the rapidly growing processed foods sector. As lifestyles change and food processing technology evolves, there is increasing demand for a variety of food additives, ranging from sweeteners to thickeners. 'Consumer preference in foods and flavours is continually changing due to fashion, lifestyle changes and the focus on healthy eating,' says Manoj Gujral, business director and general manager at Oxford Chemicals, a company that specializes in the manufacture and supply of speciality aroma chemicals to the global market for flavours and fragrances.
Ireland: Ireland is becoming a key location for the European pharmaceutical and chemical industry. More than 120 overseas companies employ 15 000 people in this sector in Ireland. In 1997, pharmaceutical products worth more than $7bn were exported. This represents 15% of total exports and makes Ireland one of the world's largest exporters of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals--sectors that dominate the Irish chemical industry. The heavy and petrochemical industry is not well represented due to a lack of raw materials and the capital-intensive nature of this end of the industry.
Catalysts: Catalysts remain one of the more innovative areas of chemistry with new technologies being developed that could have dramatic impacts on he economics of chemical processes worldwide. In the USA, a researcher has suggested a method of using combinatorial chemistry to discover new solid-state catalysts. In a paper published in the latest edition of Nature magazine, Selim Sankan of the chemical engineering department at the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests a 'mass screening' technique that could speed up the current trial and error process. The pharamaceutical industry already uses combinatorial synthesis methods, in combination with mass-screening techniques, to speed up the discovery of new drugs. incredibly small anaounts of natural and anthropogenic pollutants and contaminants in our environment, whether they are in our homes, workplaces, cities, the countryside or the oceans. The fact that we can detect these pollutants in minuscule amounts does not necessarily mean that the levels present in the environment are harmful to our health or well being, but it does drive world-wide legislation on these substances. Theretbre, there is a requirement to monitor, ascertain the sources, prevent the release, develop better detection methods and make properly assessed scientific judgements on the toxicity, exposure and risk assessment of the pollutants to which we are exposed in our daily lives. The Royal Society of Chemistry has recognized the importance of these 21st century requirements, and that it is essential to promote and disseminate the knowledge of newly developed technologies for monitoring our various environments. Therefore, it is launching the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (JEM) which is dedicated to assessing exposure and health risks through the latest developments in measurement science. The journal, with the first issue due to be published in February 1999 and then bi-monthly thereafter, is unique in that it aims to publish all the relevant information on this subject area in one source.
This journal is intended for environmental and health professionals in industry, and officials ii'om governmental and regulatory agencies as well as research scientists interested in the environment.
"I think the journal will be of interest to all analytical scientists involved with environmental monitoring issues.
Currently at NIOSH, environmental monitoring is one of the key components of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA)". Dr E. R. Kennedy, NIOSH, Cincinnati, USA.
"Environmental contaminants are becoming the No.
"The launching of a journal dedicated to environmental monitoring with some emphasis on legislative issues is an excellent idea". Dr. Philippe Quevauviller, European Commission, DGXII SM&T Programme, Belgium.
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society with a worldwide membership of 46000. it has as its main objectives the advancement of the science of chemistry and its applications, and the maintenance of high standards of competence and integrity among practising chemists. The RSC markets a comprehensive range of high quality information products and services. Originally planned as a 'stand-alone' meeting to be hosted, earlier in 1998, by Glaxo-Wellcome, the proteomics sessions were, through unexpectedly popular demand, rescheduled at this larger venue. Protein identification using MS and bio-informatics is becoming routine in the quest for new targets, with known proteins being rapidly identified via comparison of MS data with genome, EST or protein databases. Unknown proteins require the use of partial sequencing by MS-MS for the construction of oligonucleotide probes or primers. Additionally, de novo sequencing of peptide fragments is being automated. Initially focusing on current achievements in protein characterization using Q-Tof TM MS-MS systems, the intention of this seminar was to present an assessment of what was currently achievable, the limitations and what problems remained to be solved. Moving onto the pharmaceutical industry, the seminar investigated one of the most important changes taking place within it, i.e. the rapid expansion of discovery operations. MS contributes to this process in several ways, including the provision of structural support for synthetic chemistry, autopurification prior to screening and LC-MS in lead optimization. LC-MS(MS) is now being used to evaluate drug candidate metabolism and pharmacokinetics at both the early and late development stages. Discovery teams are increasingly being requested to focus on the survival of candidates to and beyond first testing in human subjects, touching off a strong push to move testing traditionally done in a develol)ment setting into the high throughput early discovery environment. LC-TOF MS mass analysers (LCT/Q-Tof) were highlighted in view of their significant potential to leverage throughput and data quality in these challenging appli- With over 130 podium and poster presentations, ISLAR '98 is the world's largest forum to learn about the latest developments in automation and robotics. Its unique format features both management and technical presentations, making it the most important industry-related conference of the year. World-renowned scientists and managers in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, chemical and consumer products industries shared their insight on the importance of using the latest technology and strategies to increase productivity and reduce time to market.
The three-day program included a series of discussion groups, workshops, short courses and presentations developed for managers to exchange ideas and experiences. A new feature at ISLAR '98 was an Ultra High Throughput Screening session where scientists and managers from around the world discussed industry challenges, the new era of HTS, and how automation was being used as a critical component in the advancement of high-throughput screening.
Attendees and presenters at ISLAR '97 participated in a survey which resulted in several new sessions debuting at ISLAR '98, including the following.

Assay miniaturization technologies
The role of bioinformatics in pharmaceutical research The impact of automation on secondary screening Managing laboratory automation in pharmaceutical analysis Methods transfer and validation Inhalation applications To help members of the media maximize their experiences at the symposium, ISLAR '98 featured a series of editorial roundtables focusing on drug discovery, analytical research and development, and quality control/ quality assurance. The roundtable panels featured keynote speakers and symposium presenters to help facilitate discussions.
For more detailed information and abstracts, access the ISLAR web site at http://www.islar.com. The next issue 0fJournal of Automated Methods & Management in Chemistry will feature abstracts from ISLAR '98