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LABORATORY PRODUCTS
New Ovens Help Leading Puppet Maker Create New Cast of TV and Film Stars
Carbolite is playing a key role in helping to create some of the future generation’s best loved TV and film characters. Some of the most popular characters in the world of children’s television such as ‘Bob the Builder’, ‘Postman Pat’, ‘Fifi and the Flowertots’ and ‘Pingu’ were ‘born’ in the state-of-the-art workshops run by Mackinnon & Saunders, a UK-based company that designs and builds high quality animation puppets and models for use by international film makers, TV entertainment programme companies and producers of TV commercials.
New additions to Mackinnon & Saunders’ well-equipped Altrincham-based workshops are two Carbolite ovens installed during June 2010 to help produce the new generation of foam latex characters the puppet maker is in the process of creating.
Mackinnon & Saunders is using the ovens to cure foam latex used in the manufacture of its new batch of puppet creations for its show Raa Raa the Noisy Lion. Some of the company’s previous projects include a number of Oscar nominated film projects as well as creating several characters for international box office successes like Wes Anderson’s “Fantastic Mr Fox” and Tim Burton’s “Mars Attacks!” and “Corpse Bride.”
The larger of the two new ovens is a 200 litre capacity standard fan convection Peak PF200 oven featuring a 300°C maximum temperature capability. The oven is fitted with an over-temperature protection option to DIN 12-880 class 2. The model maker has also installed a smaller fan convection oven, the Apex AX120, which is a 120 litre capacity, 250°C maximum temperature oven. The new ovens are both compliant with safety standards BS EN 61010-2-010-1995 & BS EN 50014:1993 and meet the ‘Electrically Heated Drying Oven’ performance standard BS 2648.
“The ovens are essentially used to bake foam latex so that it cures,” explained Chris Bowden, a producer at Mackinnon & Saunders. “A lot of our puppets are either made entirely from foam latex or have a foam latex centre to them. The ovens are an integral part of the process.”
Circle no. 188
Unique CNV Array with Whole Chromosome Uniparental Disomy Detection
Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) has introduced the groundbreaking CytoSure™ ISCA UPD 4 x 180k array. This offers the ability, for the first time, to simultaneously detect DNA copy number variation (CNV) using OGT’s ISCA consortium endorsed 4 x 180k aCGH array, along with whole chromosome uniparental disomy (UPD) using SNP probes, on a single array. The array format, ease-of-use and intuitive data interpretation via the complimentary CytoSure Interpret Software, combine to make the CytoSure ISCA UPD array an obvious choice for the next stage in cytogenetic research.
OGT’s unique UPD detection capability (patent pending) has been enabled by multiple rounds of SNP probe selection and validation, targeting over 6000 SNPs with evenly distributed probes, resulting in highly informative content that allows confident detection of whole chromosome UPD. Furthermore, the combined ISCA-UPD array has been developed to ensure near identical labelling
and hybridisation conditions to standard aCGH. In addition, the aCGH protocol is largely unaltered and any reference DNA can be used. The latest version of OGT’s CytoSure Interpret Software provides simple and intuitive data analysis, with clear identification of regions with a loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and data processing tools to investigate these further. As a result of this unique array design and data analysis capability, segmental as well as whole chromosome UPD can be detected using the CytoSure ISCA UPD array.
OGT’s powerful CytoSure ISCA arrays have been carefully developed to focus on disease and syndrome-associated genome regions, in addition to offering whole genome coverage. Using a proprietary 60-mer probe design and multiple rounds of optimisation, the CytoSure ISCA aCGH arrays ensure exceptional reliability and confident detection of genetic aberrations with high signal-to-noise ratios.
Circle no. 189
Cleaning at the Touch of a Button
The proven Metrohm Solvotrode is now available with the new easyClean diaphragm: just press on the electrode head and the electrolyte flows out. The diaphragm does not need to be touched any more for further cleaning. The user benefits include: easy contact-free cleaning of the diaphragm; greater accuracy and reproducibility of the electrolyte flow (glass on glass, the spring in the electrode head returns to its starting position); and reduced immersion depth of the sensor.
Circle no. 190
Automation Streamlines Veterinary Diagnostic Processes
The Landeslabor Berlin-Brandenburg (LLBB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is dedicated to the protection of human and animal safety, health and welfare, and has chosen Tecan’s liquid handling workstations to help monitor diseases in cattle, including an extensive testing program for the eradication of Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (BHV-1).
“By using Tecan’s process automation solutions for fully automated sample processing and high throughput ELISA, our laboratory is able to process close to 7,000 samples per day for BHV-1 testing at peak times. This has greatly enhanced the efficacy and reliability of the LLBB’s diagnostic service,” explained Sabine Thalheim at LLBB’s Department of Infectious Disease Testing.
Once samples arrive in the laboratory, they are archived and organised into sample worklists by Tecan Genesis RSP™ platforms. This is aided by direct communication between the laboratory’s LIMS database and the customer-specific DisCo Tool 2 software, using a PosID™ module and barcode scanners for sample identification. Samples are then transferred to a Freedom EVO® workstation for ELISA tests, including the IDEXX HerdChek®
specifically configured to meet the laboratory’s high throughput needs, processing up to 70 ELISA plates per day. Five hotels provide loading capacity for 45 plates in one run, and integration of a Sunrise™ microplate absorbance reader and a Power Washer 384™ allow fully automated ELISA processing, increasing the laboratory’s throughput capabilities.
200 * IBR gE Antibody kit for BHV-1 testing. The platform has been
Circle no. 191
INTERNATIONAL LABMATE - OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010 - LABORATORY PRODUCTS
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