News & Views FTIR Gas Monitoring Seminar well attended


A seminar focusing on multiparameter gas detection for both ambient and stack monitoring applications drew a large audience to its Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes venue, reports organisers Quantitech Ltd. Attendees came from a variety of industries including construction, industrial controls, Environment Agency, education, research, consultancies, test houses, hospitals, police, DSTL, Health & Safety Laboratory, waste management and abatement equipment manufacturers. Representing FTIR manufacturers Gasmet – which also sponsored the event - Antti Heikkila provided delegates with help and advice on how to maximise the performance of FTIR multiparameter gas analysers. He also explained the procedures for utilising validation gases, offering suggestions for ensuring accurate data whilst employing the minimal number of span gases. Dr Marc Coleman from the National Physical Laboratory presented an overview of Technical Guidance Note M22, which covers the Environment Agency’s requirements when


monitoring stack gas emissions using FTIR instruments. Requirements for annual and on- site instrument checks were described in addition to the spectroscopic criteria for selecting validation gases and the dependency upon the analytes to be monitored. Leading the ambient monitoring session Quantitech's Dr Andrew Hobson demonstrated the application of a portable FTIR instrument, the Gasmet DX4030, which has been chosen by the Government's multi- agency air quality team for incident investigations. The final presentation, given by Dominic Duggan, covered some of the many applications for which FTIR is the ideal gas detection technology, including stack gas and incident response, the analysis of combustion gases for product testing, health & safety investigations, vehicular emissions analysis, and environmental research.. Following the seminar, a tour of Bletchley Park ended a day that received unanimous approval by the delegates. Bruce Kester from Envirodat said: "This was an enjoyable event


BIOTECanada and the BIA


The UK and Canadian bioscience trade associations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the BIO 2011 Convention in Washington which aims to strengthen collaboration between the biotechnology sectors in the two nations. Peter Brenders, President and CEO BIOTECanada, commented: “Having the opportunity to develop a partnership with BIA will allow us to offer BIOTECanada member companies new business


leads. We look forward to building this relationship, and watching how our member companies prosper from the arrangement in years to come.” Nigel Gaymond, BIA Chief Executive, said: “The BIA is delighted to have established this partnership with BIOTECanada and we look forward to working together with them in future. This collaboration recognises the significance of the Canadian biotech sector and its potential


for partnerships between our members and BIOTECanada’s members.” Together


the


associations will: promote cooperation in bioscience in areas of mutual interest, especially those relevant to economic development; promote exchange of views in supporting the formulation and application of bioscience policy by Government; and facilitate interaction between officials, scientists and technologists of Canada and the United Kingdom.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 543 Trade Mission to Russia a success


The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN) and the Institute of Nanotechnology (IoN), have reported the success of the 2010 International NanoMicroClub (INMC) NanoMission to Russia, undertaken to support UK nanotechnology SMEs in international business development. With funding from the Technology Strategy Board, a team comprising of Integrated Nano- Science & Commodity Exchange Ltd, Nanomobile Ltd, Vantix Ltd, Cambridge


Nanomaterials Technology Ltd Nokia Research Centre, Cambridge and Magmatech Ltd, visited the annual RusNanotech conference and exhibition in Moscow, where total of 64 meetings were held. Of these, 32 opportunities were followed-up and discussed further, and two of the companies are in the process of applying for investment funding from the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation (RUSNANO). Bojan Boskovic, Director of Cambridge Nanomaterials Technology Ltd, a nanotechnology consultancy, comments, “The


NLS offers new LC/MS capability


The National Laboratory Service (NLS) has become one of the first Environmental laboratories in Europe to invest in Agilent Technologies Quadrupole Time-of-Flight (LC- QTOF) system, enabling it to offer clients an analytical screening service for trace level polar organics under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). The equipment, installed into the NLS’s Llanelli laboratory, brings a Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (LC/MS) capability to assist in the monitoring and identification of potentially hazardous substances in water samples, in conjunction with passive sampling and conventional sampling techniques.


Currently, all screening techniques use Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS), however only 30-40% of known pollutants can be analysed directly using this method, reports the company. Ian Rippin, commercial director at the NLS says: “With the stricter regulations of the WFD, we know there is a requirement for the LC/MS screening method in order to provide a more efficient way of identifying pollutants in effluents, surface water, ground water and in profiling our rivers


Ian Rippin Commercial Director NLS


in general. With this new piece of Agilent equipment, we now have the capability to offer this service.” Paul Stephens, Agilent’s Environmental Business Manager for Europe, commented: “We are delighted to see the NLS extending their analytical capability with the LC-QTOF, giving the ability to investigate the presence and fate of persistent polar organic


pollutants in our rivers and thereby contributing to a better aquatic environment for all of us.” Following the introduction of the EU Water


Framework Directive (WFD), organisations responsible for environmental monitoring will have to increase the efficiency of their testing methods to meet the newly imposed regulations which aim to achieve compliance with a list of priority hazardous substances and to identify all other chemicals that could cause deterioration in the ecological quality in water bodies.


These include a large number of new pesticides, including fungicides, insecticides and biocides, as well as emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, steroids and explosives which are soluble in water.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 546


mission was an excellent platform for me to make strategic contacts and to better understand the RUSNANO organisation and the funding initiatives, and I anticipate future business opportunities.” Olga Leonardova, Project Coordinator, Vantix Ltd also attended the mission and adds, “I am grateful to the NanoKTN and Institute of Nanotechnology for organising and supporting the UK NanoMission to Russia. I would not have been able to attend the forum without that support. It was very beneficial for


us to be part of the mission. I think it would be more difficult to meet people of such calibre if I had attended the conference on my own.” Charles McGovern, CEO of INSCX exchange, added, “We found the mission most beneficial in strengthening our links with the RUSNANO organisation. We hope the continuation of these initiatives will lead to wider collaboration with Russian nanotechnology companies in general and such efforts in our opinion hold great promise for the future development of the emerging industry.”


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and it was useful to meet other professionals that use FTIR. We use the Gasmet equipment for difficult applications to investigate the components of gas mixtures – especially organic fractions.” Similarly, Ian Robertson from Analox found the presentations very interesting, adding:


13


Novozymes Biopharma secures business award


Marc Coleman


"FTIR technology may be useful in some of the specialist applications in which we are active."


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 542


Novozymes Biopharma UK has received the 2011 Nottingham Evening Post (NEP) Business Award in the business innovation category, for its recombinant human albumin range and in recognition of its contribution in development of process improving solutions for the medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries. The NEP business awards are designed to reward organisations in the region for setting new benchmarks in their industries and the company was delighted to receive the accolade.


“Novozymes Biopharma is pleased to have been selected for the business innovation award”, commented Sally Vernon, Customer Communications Manager, Novozymes Biopharma. “We have a great infrastructure in the business and a dedication to science which is what makes us important to our customers. We are committed to working with customers to improve their products and processes and with the large pharmaceutical companies looking to reformulate many of their patents,we can support them by giving them the edge over their competitors.” The company offers long-term supply and large volume quantities of animal-free products including recombinant human albumin.


TO FIND OUT MORE CIRCLE NO. 544


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