New Products

Monoclonal Antibody Production System: The Cell-Pharm System 100 is designed for research-scale production of monoclonal antibodies, viruses, and recombinant proteins in a benchtop operation. It is intended for laboratories that screen cell lines in feasibility programs or scale up operations of biomolecules. Using hollow fiber bioreactor technology, the system is capable of producing 50 mg to 250 mg of antibodies in a month, according to the company, while eliminating concentration steps as well as reducing labor and purification costs. The instrument has a sterile, disposable flow path that includes a bioreactor and oxygenator. The need for an incubator is eliminated with its integral carbon dioxide flow adjustment and media temperature controller. Bioreactor flow paths are available in 10,000, 30,000, and 70,000 molecular weight cut-offs for any cell expression application. Unisyn Technologies Inc. Hopkinton, MA Olympus Offers Video Controller/Archiving System: The VAS II Video Controller/Archiving System, featuring icon-driven menus, can instantly capture, store, enhance, and present high-resolution digital video images from virtually any video source, including video camera, VCR, laser disk player, and camcorder. Images can be captured and stored in folders with color thumbnail display for retrieval. Stored images can be retrieved instantly by a database image management system with key word search on overlays as well as separate user-defined data field templates tied both to the images and to the storage folders. Users can access and compare stored images with picture-in-picture, two or four images side-by-side, and customized templates. In addition, live or stored images-including distance, angle, area, x/y axis, and manual counting features-can be measured. Olympus America Inc. Melville, NY ALPCO Announces Insulin ELISA: The Insulin ELISA, cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration, is designed for in vitro diagnostic use of quantitative insulin measurement in serum or plasma. This solid-phase, two-site enzyme immunoassay is available in a precoated strip format, 96 wells (12 x 8). It is based on the direct sandwich technique, in which two monoclonal antibodies are directed against separate antigenic determinants on the insulin molecule. The measurement range of the assay is from 0 mU/l to 200 mU/l with a claimed analytical detection limit of <1 mU/l. The kit comes with ready-to-use liquid standards. American Laboratory Products Co. Ltd. (ALPCO) Wingham, NH DNA/RNA Crosslinker From Spectronics: The Spectrolinker XL-1000 UV crosslinker is designed for DNA/RNA crosslinking and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-contaminant elimination. It features a "smart" microprocessor controller and true ultraviolet (UV) monitoring circuitry, reportedly enabling users to obtain error-free results with greater speed, accuracy, and safety. The instrument covalently binds nucleic acids to membranes in less than 30 seconds, which the company claims is 240 times faster than vacuum-oven baking. It is said to enhance sample visibility on autoradiograms by up to 445 percent. It also features four operation modes, built-in help messages, and an auto-repeat function. The system comes complete with five 8-watt, 254-nm tubes (312 nm and 365 nm tubes are optional). Applications include DNA/RNA crosslinking, elimination of PCR contamination, nicking ethidium-bromide stained DNA in agarose gels, gene mapping, RecA mutation screening and testing, UV sterilization, UV-induced polymerization, UV-intensity monitoring, and other miscellaneous UV-dosage applications. Spectronics Corp. Westbury, NY DAKO Announces DNA In Situ Hybridization System: The DAKO GenPoint is designed for visualizing small quantities of target DNA. Based on the catalyzed signal amplification (CSA) methodology, the system for biotinylated probes reportedly offers high sensitivity with none of the complexities and contamination concerns associated with target amplification methods, such as polymerase chain reaction. It may be used with routinely processed tissue, including formalin-fixed paraffin sections, or cell preparations. A similar CSA system for immunohistochemistry offers signal amplification that is 20 to 200 times greater than traditional avidin-biotin methods, according to the company. DAKO Corp. Carpinteria, CA Beckman Enhances Laboratory Automation Workstation: A Gripper Tool has been introduced for use with the company's Biomek 2000 Laboratory Automation Workstation. The gripper automatically moves objects on and off work surface positions as well as in and out of different peripheral components, thereby expanding the capacity of the Biomek 2000. The new tool enables the Biomek 2000 to become a fully automated assay system when microplates are moved in and out of the Biomek Plate Reader. The gripper moves objects up to 200 g in weight when gripped under the labware, up to 100 g when gripped at the sides, and up to 60 mm in height. Unbalanced plates also can be moved reliably. Beckman Instruments Inc. Fullerton, CA Lubricant For Lab Instruments: New Tek Lube is a nontoxic lubricant formulated for laboratory instruments that require protection and lubrication. It reportedly ensures optimum performance of pipettes, laboratory instrumentation, and surgical instruments as well as most low- and high-friction contact surfaces. The autoclavable lubricant is compatible with gaskets and O-rings as it cleans, penetrates, and prevents metal corrosion. It does not contain heavy metals or reactive substances, is nonsoluble in water, and lubricates in the presence of moisture. The product releases an organic radical when subjected to mechanical or thermal stress, which reportedly modifies the invisible wear of particles into a eutectic film as thin as 250,000 Angstrom units and is not affected by contaminants such as glycol or water. The lubricant is packaged in a pen-style, disposable applicator made of clear plastic with a fine stainless-steel tip. Ulster Scientific Inc. New Paltz, NY

New Products

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