Abstract
Johnson & Johnson Clinical Diagnostics Breaks Ground on New R&D Facility
Johnson & Johnson Clinical Diagnostics (Rochester, NY) has announced plans to focus its Research and Development programs on its
Immunodiagnostic and Clinical Chemistry platforms in a new &D wing of its Rochester, NY, operation. Construction has already begun on a 4-story, 100,000 sq. ft. R&D building. Much of the new R&D focus will be on a more rapidly growing menu of tests for the VITROS ECi Immunodiagnostic system; program expansion includes plans for thyroid, reproductive endocrinology, cardiac, oncology, retrovirus and hepatitis infectious diseases.
UL BioSystems Introduces CRITERION™ HTS System
LJL BioSystems, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) recently unveiled its first high throughput screening product system, CRITERION™. This system consist of:
ANALYST™, an automated, multi-mode assay detection instrument designed to connect to existing robotics systems
Application specific reagents and assay kits
Assay development services
Application support services
ANALYST can perform fluorescence, fluorescence polarization, time resolved fluorescence, and luminescence assays. It can also read assays in 96- or smaller assay volume, 384-well microtiter plates without sensitivity loss. ANALYST uses SmartOptics™ (patent pending), a feature which automatically configures the assay detection optics for high sensitivity and low background. ANALYST also features a “plug and play” robotics interface.
In addition, LJL has signed a licensing agreement for a platform of bioassay technologies with FluoRx, Inc. (Carmel, IN). The agreement will allow LJL to incorporate FluoRx's fluorescence lifetime (FLT) sensing technology into LJL's HTS systems. This FLT technology measures the excited state lifetime, rather than the intensity, of proprietary fluorphores by means of a method of fluorescence lifetime measurement, termed phase modulation.
The technology license includes exclusive, global rights to nine patents for use in pharmaceutical research and development. The FLT assay technology platform originated in the laboratories of Dr. Joseph Lakowicz, Director of the Center for Fluorescence Spectroscopy at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is covered by nine issued US patents that include both reagents and instrumentation, and two additional patent applications.
See the back cover for registration information.
RoboSynthon Releases MaxiReactor™ Parallel Synthetic Chemistry Workstation
RoboSynthon, Inc. (South San Francisco, CA) has released its MaxiReactor™ parallel synthetic chemistry workstation for multigram scale reactions. The MaxiReactor holds six reaction vessels with a maximum volume of 500 ml and a working volume of 400 ml. Each vessel has independently controlled heating and magnetic stirring. The MaxiReactor can be controlled manually or with a computer for temperature and stirring programs. Targeted applications include solid phase resin prep, process research, large-scale split-and-pool and chemical scaffold synthesis. A complete set of glassware is included.
Sysmex Unveils SF-Alpha and SE Avante Alpha Automated Hematology Units
Sysmex Corporation (Long Grove, IL) has released two new automated hematology units. The Sysmex SF-Alpha combines the SF-3000 analyzer's laser technology with the Alpha robotics configuration; the unit is designed as a countertop model. The unit features:
Diode laser / flow cell technology for low maintenance
Differential reagent lysing for identification of WBC subpopulations
80 sample per hour throughput
Standard Sysmex 10-tube rack us
Slide maker which makes smear and stains slide
One or two slides per patient
The second unit is the Sysmex SE Avante Alpha, incorporating the SE-9500 5-part differential hematology analyzer, RAM-1 reticulocyte analysis module and the SP-100 slide preparation and staining unit.
Cells are analyzed using a combination of technologies:
RF/DC detection of lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes
Cell-specific lysing reagents for eosinophils, basophils and immature granulocytes
DC detection method for RBC/PLT
Cyanide-free hemoglobin reagent for hemoglobin measurement
Auramine O fluorescent dye with argon laser detection
Tecan Announces Debut of New Home Page and Launch of SPETRAFluor Plus
The Tecan AG home page is now on-line. Featuring information on Tecan group companies, Tecan products, and corporate information, the page is designed to be of assistance to those searching for automation solutions on the web. See http://www.tecan.com for more details.
Tecan also recently launched the SPETRAFluor Plus, a microplate reader for applications in cell growth and proliferation, ion studies, cell adhesion, cell viability, and others. The instrument measures fluorescence, or absorbance in UV and standard wavelength ranges, luminescence and time-resolved measurement; it reads 6-1536 well microplates formats as well as Terasaki plates or Petri dishes.