A Medical Device Daily

Analytical instrument developer Thermo Electron (Waltham, Massachusetts) unveiled new laboratory solutions this week at the annual Pittsburgh Conference and Exhibition Exposition on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (PITTCON), one of the largest yearly meetings focused on the worldwide laboratory science and instrumentation markets, held this year at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

In addition to unveiling new technology systems for mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, electrochemistry and informatics, Thermo is showcasing solutions for speeding drug discovery and manufacturing.

Among the solutions Thermo is highlighting are:

• The Orion Star Series line of meters, accessories and solutions for electrochemistry measurement, offering multiple configurations and highly sensitive electrodes for applications in the general laboratory, pharmaceutical, environmental, food and beverage and consumer products markets.

• The Nicolet 380, a new spectrometer for academic and industrial laboratories to quickly identify, quantify and verify samples. The Nicolet 380 uses system integration, plug-and-play sampling and computer-based expertise to guide the user through the experiment. The design allows users to achieve a wavelength precision of better than 0.01 cm-1 without using mathematical factors that alter data and are difficult to explain in a standard operating procedure.

• The ADME/Tox (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion and Toxicology), the company calling it the first such turn-key solution on the market. The LeadStream ADME/Tox Solution increases the availability of early ADME/Tox data to accelerate early-stage compound assessment by generating preclinical profiling results more rapidly to reduce time-to-market.

• Darwin, a commercial off-the-shelf laboratory information management system (LIMS) for pharmaceutical development and quality control. Darwin LIMS software provides users out-of-the box functionality to shorten implementation time and reducing validation costs.

Over the past 12 months, Thermo has completed a number of strategic acquisitions, with Marijn Dekkers, president and CEO of Thermo Electron, saying that the additions "complement our broad product portfolio. This strategy, combined with an aggressive company-wide R&D program, means Thermo is helping to solve the complex challenges customers are facing in their specific applications."

Thermo's Life and Laboratory Sciences segment provides analytical instruments, scientific equipment, services and software solutions for life science, drug discovery, clinical, environmental and industrial laboratories. Its Measurement and Control segment provides analytical instruments used in a variety of manufacturing processes and in-the-field applications.

In other product rollouts:

• PerkinElmer (Wellesley, Massachusetts), a provider of drug discovery, life science research and analytical systems, is exhibiting a variety of new and enhanced systems.

These include:

• The Spectrum Spotlight 200 FTIR microscope system, an automated, high-performance microscopy platform designed to enable quick, easy collection of high sample quality data. "In-field upgrade to full imaging minimizes downtime and extends IR analysis to new applications," the company said.

• The Universal Reflectance Accessory (URA), the company calling it "a breakthrough sampling accessory for absolute reflectance measurements at variable angles." The URA automates angle changes, eliminates alignment issues, and permits instant switching between reference and sample.

• The Labworks LIMS Online Administrator, which provides secure browser-based access for reviewing test information, results and reports.

• A new 6.3 version of PerkinElmer TotalChrom Chromatography Data System, designed to offer increased productivity with ease-of-use and flexibility for high-throughput, high-volume data reporting laboratories.

• PerkinElmer LAMBDA 950, 850 and 650 UV/Vis/NIR and UV/Vis spectrophotometers, described as "the industry standard for high performance, flexibility and convenience."

PerkinElmer focuses its operations in the following businesses: Life and Analytical Sciences, Optoelectronics and Fluid Sciences.

• Bruker AXS (Madison, Wisconsin), an operating company of Bruker BioSciences (Billerica, Massachusetts), introduced an ultra-bright X-ray source, called Microstar-H, for laboratory protein crystallography.

Bruker said that Microstasr-H is the culmination of its research on X-ray source technology in general, and so-called "rotating anode generators" for protein crystallography in particular. It incorporates advances in anode design, electron and X-ray optics to achieve extraordinary brightness and X-ray intensity, comparable to a typical second-generation synchrotron beam-line.

"Its advanced design also features operating and maintenance costs much lower than most conventional rotating anode X-ray sources," according to Bruker.

Roger Durst, PhD, vice president of R&D and global crystallography business manager of Bruker AXS, called the MICROSTAR-H "an ideal tool for both high-throughput crystal screening as well as the most demanding structural proteomics studies."

Bruker AXS develops life science and advanced materials research tools based on X-ray technology.

• Axsun Technologies (Billerica, Massachusetts) introduced a new platform of tunable, laser-based products to enable continuous quality monitoring in process applications.

These include: The IntegraSpec XLP system for pharmaceutical process analytical technology (PAT) applications and the IntegraSpec XL line for industrial-process applications. A proprietary laser source combined with IntegraSpec features, including integrated wavelength and amplitude references, are designed to enable IntegraSpec XLP products to perform condensed-phase analysis for meeting requirements of the FDA's pharmaceutical PAT initiative. The new IntegraSpec XL and XLP lines also incorporate semiconductor/device technology designed to ensure maintenance-free operation, rapid application development and calibration transfer.

In addition to exhibiting its products, Axsun is presenting two posters and will chair an industry symposium titled "Miniature Spectrometers for Process Analytical Chemistry: Toward a Spectroscopic Sensor."

Axsun manufactures advanced components and photonic subsystems used in test and measurement applications.