This article features the newest technology that will be showcased at Pittcon 2010.

Glove boxes differ from other safety enclosures in two significant respects: users can introduce articles into glove boxes and manipulate them inside through ports fitted with gloves, and glove boxes typically use a specialized atmosphere.

Here is a statistic that jumped out at me recently: improper storage of chemicals accounts for nearly 25 percent of all chemical accidents. Why is that? This is a sad statistic, given that all these accidents are entirely preventable, yet they continue to happen despite the availability of numerous and excellent resources just a few keystrokes away.

Fume hoods are installed in laboratories to protect workers from hazardous vapors generated by laboratory experiments. However, simply conducting these experiments in the fume hood does not guarantee adequate protection.

The latest equipment, instruments and system introductions to the laboratory market.

Take a look around your laboratory. Now imagine it without any automated equipment. What would your productivity be like in a facility where all the work was done manually, without the benefits of any automation?

CONCOAs Intelligent Gas Distribution System IntelliSwitch II continuously monitors your reserve containers pressure, using programmed software logic to determine if a container is truly empty or contains residual product.

Microtiter plates have become common labware in life science and medicine. Automated systems employing microplates in biological and chemical assays may consist of liquid dispensers, plate washers, mixers, readers, sealers, labelers, shakers, incubators and storage.

Liquid handlers are sold in a variety of fluid-dispensing configurations, from single-channel through eight (one row of a 96-well microtiter plate), 96, and 384 channels.

It's important that every lab be prepared with the correct fire extinguisher, inspection requirements and training.