As of January 1, 2014, Newport Electronics, Inc. has merged into Omega Engineering, Inc. NEWPORT has been a leader in high-precision test, measurement, process control and automation instrumentation for more than four decades. NEWPORT began manufacturing electronic instrumentation in 1965 and quickly earned a reputation for designing and building the world’s most accurate industrial instrumentation.

INTEGRA Biosciences has received a Red Dot Design Award for its innovative VIAFLO ASSIST - a new laboratory device that, in combination with a VIAFLO II electronic handheld pipette, enables the pipette’s protocols to be performed automatically. With its origins dating back to 1955, the Red Dot Design Award ranks among the most renowned design competitions in the world.

In this technical note, INTEGRA presents accuracy and precision data for VIAFLO 96-channel pipetting heads, measured using Artel’s MVS.

Regulatory methods such as USEPA 1664, Rev B, Standard Methods 5520 and ISO11349:2010 can be performed more reliably with the market-leading automated system from Horizon Technology

Users decide between dedicated and multipurpose systems

Problem: With unrelenting need for accurate sample analysis at lower and lower detection limits, there is pressure on modern laboratories for sample prep instruments that can provide automated, accurate reagent additions to previously prepared liquid samples or for preparing several aliquots of these samples with multiple dilution factors. The catch-all phrase that identifies these devices is “liquid handling systems” and they perform absolutely essential tasks that have a direct and large effect on the ultimate measurement accuracy of both inorganic and organic sample analysis.

Louis Scampavia, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Therapeutics at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida, talks to contributing editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about how automation has been a critical part of their high-throughput screening activities. He goes into the details of what can and should be automated and the due diligence that needs to be performed before these decisions are made—decisions that have a long-standing impact on the workings of a lab.

Join Tecan on booth #405 at this year’s SLAS Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, California, to discover the latest developments in automated liquid handling. From the 18th to 22nd of January, this annual event will once again play host to the very best in laboratory equipment from around the world, together with a wide range of presentations, seminars and workshops designed to ignite imaginations and push the boundaries of laboratory automation.

Philip Schwartz, PhD, supervisor and senior scientist and director of the National Human Neural Stem Cell Resource at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Research Institute, talks to Contributing Editor Tanuja Koppal, PhD, about the subtle particulars and expertise needed to design and maintain a laboratory dedicated to culturing stem cells.

As laboratory budgets tighten and laboratory automation purchases come under scrutiny, R&D efforts are still expected to function efficiently and with increased data quality. 

Problem: Advancements in technology in the scientific arena have led to the requirement to store larger numbers of compounds including small molecules, potential drug candidates or biological samples.