December 18, 2008

• Experience Shimadzu's AA-6300 Advantages

• The Role of Analytical Instrumentation in the Life Sciences
• WS-CRDS: Precision Trace Gas Analysis and Simplified Stable Isotope Measurements
• The Helium Ion Microscope: The Next Stage in Nanoscale Imaging
• Desktop Biological Nanopatterning Using Dip-Pen Nanolithography

• INTEGRA Biosciences Announced Two New Application Reports
• Award Was Presented To Biospace Lab
• Symyx has acquired Integrity Biosolution
• Waters Corp. Recognized by Frost & Sullivan

Shimadzu's AA-6300 Atomic Absorption Spectrometer delivers the performance you need with advanced photonics that ensure measurements are automatically performed at optimal conditions. Features include:

Learn more at http://www.ssi.shimadzu.com/AL

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Shimadzu Scientific Instruments
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by C. David Carr and Robert L. Stevenson

Historically, the life sciences have been qualitative in nature, seeking to identify but seldom understand quantitatively. The development of separation technologies such as electrophoresis, chromatography, and centrifugation began as far back as the early part of the twentieth century; however, these technologies progressed very slowly and contributed only minimally, until the middle part of the last century, when instrumentation started to increase their speed and accuracy. This article will identify several important technologies now used in the life sciences that are, in fact, critical to fulfilling the potential of the biological sciences, based on the use of increasingly sophisticated instrumentation…

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INTEGRA Biosciences has announced two new applications reports that demonstrate how its VACUSAFE comfort personal vacuum aspiration system makes the aspiration of liquids safe, easy, and efficient. The reports are downloadable from www.vacusafe.info.

by Eric R. Crosson

Wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy (WSCRDS) is fast gaining worldwide acceptance as a superior tool for trace gas analysis, because it combines operational simplicity and portability with parts-perbillion sensitivity, species selectivity, and quantitative precision, as well as a linear dynamic range up to percent concentration levels. Very recently, commercial WSCRDS instruments have been configured to bring a similar combination of simplicity and precision to stable isotope measurements, most notably for CO₂ and H₂O. In the case of H₂O, both oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and hydrogen (δD) isotope ratios are simultaneously measured directly from liquid or vapor samples with no special preparation required. Furthermore, the overall cost per measurement is much lower than for traditional isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) instruments, yet the precision and sensitivity are similar, and even better in some instances. Moreover, these WSCRDS instruments have minimum drift and memory; thus frequent calibration is completely unnecessary. As a result, WSCRDS isotope analyzers are already finding application in fields as diverse as monitoring for leaks of fossil-fuel CO₂ at geosequestration sites and research into carbon/ water cycles, as well as for total organic carbon (TOC) measurements…

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The 2008 Frost & Sullivan European Preclinical Small Animal Imaging Product Line Strategy of the Year Award was presented to Biospace Lab for keeping abreast of market requirements with its strong product portfolio.

by Mohan Ananth, Larry Scipioni, and John Notte

The helium ion microscope is being proven to offer solutions for imaging at the nanoscale. The high brightness of its ion source gives the microscope a subnanometer probe size. There are also unique features to the beam-sample interactions that produce the image information, thus allowing for new data to be gleaned from the images. Some fundamental advantages conferred by probing a surface with a helium ion beam are the unique and complementary material dependence of the secondary electron (SE) yield, the surface sensitivity arising from the small SE escape depth, and the ability to maintain this surface sensitivity even when imaging low-atomic-weight materials-thus eliminating the need to decrease the beam energy (degrading resolution) in order to see the true surface. Since the helium ions have such low mass, sample damage is greatly reduced, allowing focused ion beam (FIB)-specific applications to be carried to a much higher magnification. At the same time, this low mass makes it possible to collect the backscattered ion signal to create a new imaging mode. Insulating samples can be managed through the use of an electron flood gun to neutralize charge buildup. Finally, there is a large depth of focus in the microscope, allowing highly three-dimensional objects or slanted surfaces to be imaged more readily with uniform clarity across the field of view…

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Symyx has acquired Integrity Biosolution, which provides high-quality, costeffective formulation and stability solutions for large-molecule biopharmaceuticals along with GMP fill/finish services for Phase I and II clinical trial volumes. The acquisition expands Symyx's research service offerings in life sciences into biologic formulations, complementing its existing chemical formulations services.

by Jason Haaheim and Omkar A. Nafday

The ability to control the size and shape of deposited chemical structures on the nanoscale opens up new and exciting possibilities for the development of devices for use in the electronic, life science, and medical diagnostic fields…

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The Waters^® SYNAPT^TM High Definition MS^TM (HDMS^TM) system from Waters Corp. was recognized by Frost & Sullivan for a Product Innovation of the Year award, and Strategic Directions International's Instrument Business Outlook (IBO) selected the Xevo^TM TQ MS system as the Best New Product at the 2008 American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) annual meeting..