RECENT PRODUCT NEWS

Olympus offers its versatile, powerful BX3 clinical microscope systems for analysis and disease diagnosis in pathology and cytology. The systems take advantage of Olympus’s new true-colour light-emitting diode (LED) illumination technology and built-in Light Intensity Manager (LIM) to create images with accurately rendered colours.

The Thermo Scientific PathoDxtra Strep Grouping Kit has just been launched. This latex agglutination kit offers faster Streptococcus grouping than traditional methods for all clinically significant Lancefield groups. Designed to improve workflow efficiencies, the nitrous acid extraction instantly removes the cell antigens and the test does not require rehydration or incubation.

Pro-Lab Diagnostics has launched a high-quality immunoassay for rapid and accurate screening of patients with suspected Clostridium difficile infection. The Prolisa C. difficile GDH (glutamate dehydrogenase) enzyme immunoassay (EIA) achieves excellent sensitivity and specificity thanks to a mouse monoclonal GDH antibody, and it offers a high negative predictive value so that C. difficile infection can be ruled out quickly and easily.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has unveiled the new Thermo Scientific Revco UxF series ultralow-temperature (ULT) freezers. Providing outstanding sample protection, while maintaining high standards in energy efficiency and capacity per footprint, these new freezers excel both in design and security. Equipped with a touchscreen control panel that features an event log, health monitoring system and controlled access options, the Revco UxF series provides a constant update on the integrity and health of the freezer compartment.

The new ScheBo M2-PK Quick rapid test for colorectal cancer screening of faecal samples extends the product range for testing M2-PK as a tumour biomarker, alongside the two existing quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for M2-PK in EDTA-plasma and stool samples. M2 pyruvate kinase (M2-PK) has a critical function in glucose metabolism and high concentrations of the dimeric isoform are found in cancer.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has launched a new compact atomic absorption (AA) spectrometer for dedicated and cost-effective graphite furnace analysis. The Thermo Scientific iCE 3300GF, the latest addition to the iCE 3000 series range of AA spectrometers, offers guaranteed deuterium background correction and automatic optical set-up, ensuring optimal sensitivity, reliability and accuracy of results.

Nikon has developed a streamlined version of its groundbreaking A1R MP multiphoton confocal imaging system. The new A1 MP scanner has been developed for simplified, cost-effective multiphoton imaging, while maintaining the sensitivity and quality of the highly respected A1R MP system. Multiphoton imaging is becoming increasingly popular for cell-friendly, dynamic live-cell and deep tissue imaging. Budgetary constraints have, historically, prevented some laboratories from realising the full potential of this exciting technique.

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative organism found in the natural environment. It can infect humans, setting up an infection of the pulmonary alveolar macrophages, which is now termed Legionnaire’s disease. Although there are 64 serogroups of Legionella, 70–90% of cases of pneumonia are caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (SG1).

Water analysis specialist Palintest has launched its new 9100 UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The 9100 UV-Vis instrument provides standalone or dedicated PC operation using Palintest’s specially designed software, and extends the company’s existing product range, offering high-end analysis specifically designed for the laboratory environment.

Sigma Life Science has introduced 1700 new products to its collection of highly characterised Prestige Antibodies. The entire portfolio, which now stands at over 10,000 antibodies and covers 8400 protein targets, is available as part of an exclusive partnership with Atlas Antibodies.

Sterilin has extended its range of sterile polypropylene centrifuge tubes that offers a speed capability up to 12,000 xg. The high-quality standard range is suitable for general laboratory applications and the premium range, which is certified free from DNase/RNase/human DNA and non-pyrogenic, is ideal for molecular biology applications.

Techne offers the TC-PLUS range of thermal cyclers, a feature-packed combination of server and satellite units that give complete flexibility to configure any multi-block format. These versatile thermal cyclers feature some of the fastest aluminium blocks available, providing a ramp rate of up to 5°C per second, as well as innovative energysaving technology and a space-efficient design.

CoolLED, a supplier of high-performance light-emitting diode (LED) products, has introduced its pE-100 light source for use with fluorescence microscopes. With a choice from over 20 LED wavelengths, ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR), the pE-100 offers LED excitation at a single wavelength to match a users exact requirements.

Elga LabWater has introduced two innovative additions to the awardwinning PURELAB flex range of laboratory water purification systems. Aimed at low-volume users, the PURELAB flex 3 produces up to 10 litres per day of type I ultrapure water, from tap water, while the PURELAB flex 4 is designed for polishing purified water up to ultrapure standards. The PURELAB flex offers many advantages for analytical and life science applications.

Alere has introduced a new diagnostic tool, the Alere Triage PLGF test, as an aid to the diagnosis of early-onset preeclampsia, a leading cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. Currently, the condition is diagnosed by an increase in blood pressure and the presence of protein in urine. These signs are non-specific for pre-eclampsia and are not always present in women who develop severe complications. Instead, the measurement of placental growth factor (PlGF), a biomarker involved in placental development, provides a highly sensitive and specific indication of placental dysfunction which leads to early onset preeclampsia.

Horiba Medical’s Pentra SAfe secure access solution for remote analysis is now available for the ABX Pentra 400 clinical chemistry analyser and ABX Pentra 80 haematology analyser. The Pentra SAfe solution provides remote point-of-care (POC) managers full and secure access to all software on these analysers as if they were standing in front of them. This new development follows the Pentra SAfe solution’s initial launch in conjunction with the ABX Pentra 60 C+ bench-top haematology analyser, which provides Clinical pathology Accreditation (CPA)-compliant POC haematology service provision.

Trichomonas vaginalis is a common human pathogen of the male and female urogenital tract, which can lead to vaginitis and urethritis. Its high prevalence in carriers is associated with adverse outcomes during pregnancy.

Stemmer Imaging has announced that Allied Vision Technologies (AVT) has complemented its Pike series of firewire cameras by adding 11- and 16-megapixel models that provide excellent image quality. The new additions, the Pike F-1100 and F-1600, are well suited to demanding applications where image quality, sharpness, precision and detail are essential.

The Roche acetaminophen (paracetamol) 10 minutes-to-result assay is an easy-to-use and effective low-cost method for laboratories to incorporate in their routine testing menu. The assay is easy to incorporate on a Roche platform, which, with ready-to-use reagents, ensures time and labour savings. Additionally, the two-shot assay does not suffer from interference due to the paracetamol antidote N-acetylcysteine, making it extremely reliable for patient follow-up.

The new EUROStar III Plus fluorescence microscope continues EUROIMMUN’s tradition of developing systems for immunodiagnostics. The Bluelight light-emitting diode (LED) light source provides a defined light intensity which is kept perfectly constant throughout the life of the unit.