“Shaken, not stirred” was James Bond’s preferred mixing method for martinis. Similarly, biological shakers aerate and mix cells with their media by the action of a moving platform.

Mature product lines such as pH meters are fundamentally limited in underlying technology, so they evolve through adding features and functionality. High-end pH meters often come with USB or Bluetooth communications and networking capability.

Early in the evolution of chromatography- mass spectrometry, one could consider the two components as separate boxes requiring a good deal of engineering to link them together.

Raman spectroscopy has undergone a revolution during the last seven to 10 years, largely as a result of massive investment in the telecommunications industry.

Best practices dictate that pipettes undergo preventive maintenance and calibration at least once per year. Calibration involves dispensing set volumes of a liquid, usually water, into the weighing pan of a calibrated balance.

Whether your business is pharmaceuticals, mining, paints, or foods, you are probably working with smaller particles than you were a decade ago.

The question of limited access or general access to laboratory goods and services applies to a range of instruments, utilities, and competencies. These questions take on added significance for midsized or larger labs.

Although a mature product category, microplate readers are evolving towards greater functionality, flexibility, and throughput. All top instrument makers are focusing at least some efforts on multiplexing.

The prospect of gas cylinder accidents inspires awe and fear in lab workers. However, a safer alternative exists for some of the more common specialty gases: on-site or point-of-use generation that uses membranes, catalysts, or pressure swing absorption to generate pure gases from air or water.

Oil-free diaphragm pumps have earned a reputation for environmental- friendliness for low- to medium- pressure applications. At the low-pressure end, pumps do not continuously send water down the drain as do aspirators.

Although serious Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) research and core analysis facilities are still alive and well, traditional applications are giving way to more dynamic uses such as controlling processes and field work.

Despite their maturity as a product category, chillers and baths continue their slow evolution, particularly in the areas of controls and user interface.

Despite the technique’s maturity, ultraviolet and visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy has been a fertile area for innovation, both in terms of underlying technology and instrumentation.

“Informatics convergence” has become a buzzword among ELN vendors and their customers.

As HPLC systems become faster and employ increasingly exotic stationary phases, sample preparation becomes essential for reliable, reproducible analyses.