RECENT PRODUCT NEWS

According to the United Nations, some 200 million people (5% of the global population) have used illicit drugs at least once in the last 12 months.

The sensitivity, accuracy and ease of use offered by the automated Clinitest human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) assay from Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics have been highlighted in an evaluation of 11 æpallet typeÆ professional urine pregnancy tests conducted recently by the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA).

Lab MÆs innovative Captivate immunomagnetic separation (IMS) products and methodology are being used to enhance and accelerate a range of microbiological processes.

Porvair Sciences has introduced a range of clear-bottomed microplates designed to offer excellent performance in the long wavelength ultraviolet (UV) region. Krystal-UV plates are available in 24-, 96- and 384- well formats, in black or white ultrapure-grade polystyrene, and offer excellent photometric performance down to 325 nm.

Millipore has announced the availability of the new BioPak C disposable ultrafiltration cartridge.

Thermo Fisher Scientific and MayLab Analytical Instruments have released a new software control for MayLabÆs MistraSwitch multicolumn selector for the Mistral oven with the Thermo Scientific Surveyor Plus high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system.

Radleys has announced a new and improved version of its popular Carousel stirring hotplate.

Tecan has launched the latest version of its easy-to-use, intuitive Freedom EVOware software, designed to control and enhance the performance of the Freedom EVO series of liquid handling platforms.

Oxoid has extended its range of laboratory preparations to include Tryptone X (code LP0642), a new vitamin-rich pancreatic digest of casein.

EppendorfÆs new online calculator shows how reagent savings are possible using epMotionÆs precise, automated pipetting to reduce real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) set-up volumes, which can be as little as 10 ∞L or less.

Free kappa and free lambda light chains are now available as part of the Randox International Quality Assessment Scheme (RIQAS) Specific Proteins programme, for a one-year pilot study.

Inverness Medical has announced the launch of the SmartCheck INR monitoring device.

The EasyCyte Mini from Guava Technologies is designed to make flow cytometry accessible to anyone in the laboratory, and delivers top-quality flow cytometric results.

Axis-Shield has launched the Afinion multiparameter desktop analyser for use at the point of care.

Olympus has introduced a new multi-laser combiner for its FluoView FV1000 confocal laser scanning microscope (cLSM).

Don Whitley Scientific has announced the availability of AutoZONE, an automatic zone analysing system that consists of a computercontrolled high-resolution CCD camera on an automated gantry system.

Applied Biosystems has released TaqMan Gene Expression Master Mix and TaqMan Genotyping Master Mix reagents, which can boost the performance of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping applications.

Beckman Coulter has introduced IOTest CD85d (ILT4) PE-conjugated monoclonal antibody.

Qiagen has expanded its protein product portfolio with new tools to streamline and simplify protein research.

The London Independent Hospital (LIH) has carried out an evaluation of the potential benefits of introducing universal rapid patient screening for methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonisation.