INNOVATION
LAB EQUIPMENT GOES BACKTO THE FUTURE
Clare College, Cambridge, provided the historic backdrop for nine companies launching innovations aimed at the UK
laboratory sector. Steed Webzell
went along to find out more
tradition, the venue set an impressive scene for the most significant laboratory equipment event so far this year. The invitation-only ‘meeting of minds’ was organised by Cambridge-based marketing agency for the science sector, Phoenix MarCom. An exhibition in Clare College’s recently opened Gillespie Centre was complemented by a series of new product presentations by companies sharing a common thread: innovation. First up was Geoff Simmons,
B
marketing manager at Eppendorf UK, a manufacturer of products for use in commercial and academic research laboratories, who wanted to talk about the virtues of the company’s new Xplorer electronic pipette. Described as offering “simply better pipetting”, Xplorer combines an intuitive operating concept with an ergonomic display designed to help users working with complex or long pipetting series. “The device features an option wheel similar to those found on microwave ovens and irons, soft keys and a rocker switch to command piston movement,” said Simmons. “It’s so easy to use that we guarantee anyone can be an expert within three and a half minutes.” Xplorer offers a choice of six volume ranges, as well as single or multi-channel variants, and is built from
10 Sampling & Monitoring May 2010
uilt in 1326, Clare College is the second oldest of Cambridge’s 31 university colleges. Steeped in
Full of good ideas: the delegates line up outside Clare College, Cambridge
lightweight materials to negate the effects of repetitive strain injury (RSI). Next to address the microphone was Clive
Collier, managing director of QSI UK, a developer of laboratory information management systems (LIMS). QSI’s core product is WinLIMS, a suite of software to manage data, processes and workflows. In 16 years, the company can boast over 800 users of its software, including many large corporate clients. In 2002, the first release of WinLIMS was designed to attract the middle tier of the market, and now, in 2010, QSI is hoping to draw in small companies too. “At £35,000 for a five-user system we
A low-cost solution to conduct synthetic reactions
realised that WinLIMS was still out of reach for many smaller organisations, which is why we have released a rental option from £165 a month,” said Collier. “The monthly rental fee includes WinLIMS software licenses, a support pack and a copy of Microsoft SQLServer 2005 Express edition.” Stephen Tierney, managing director at Dutch company IKS International, said that more than 15 years of development had gone into its XiltriX laboratory
monitoring, data logging and alarm system. XiltriX can record and alarm parameters that include temperature and pressure within laboratory storage equipment such as coolers,
freezers, CO2 incubators and centrifuges, in real time, 24-7, locally via an internal network, or via the internet. Among the most recent developments at IKS is Xiltrix Lite for users with a smaller budget. The system consists of a complete communications system with four temperature sensors (PT100) including server and sub-station.
Chemical synthesis
Speaking as both the managing director of Asynt and the CEO of Uniqsis, Martyn Fordham elaborated on two new technology developments aimed at chemical synthesis markets. From Asynt, the new Drysyn parallel synthesizer allows chemists to heat and stir up to 12 small-scale reactions in parallel using any standard hotplate. “At around £200 the device provides a low cost solution for chemists wishing to conduct simple synthetic reactions with temperature control and magnetic stirring, but without the complications of reflux or inerting,” said Fordham. “It’s ideal for producing small, focused libraries of compounds.” Fordham also introduced the Uniqsis
FlowSyn flow chemistry system, which now has an upgraded pump manifold that monitors each high pressure reagent channel
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64