A quick trip to the cells

Quanta combines Coulter volume measurement with two-colour fluorescence capabilities for accurate, multiparameter cell counting and sizing. Multiple excitation wavelengths, including UV, allow flexible fluorochrome selection for a variety of multicolour analyses. The Coulter volume measurement, when combined with dual-excitation light sources, enables the Quanta to accurately count and size cells for basic and advanced analyses. The Quanta is well suited to applications such as viability, apoptosis, cell cycle and protein expression. The systemÆs affordability and small footprint make it ideal for distributed testing in non-core laboratories. Quanta is part of Beckman CoulterÆs Cell Lab family of integrated cellular analysis solutions. Brendan Yee, the strategic business manager for Beckman Coulter, said: ôWith Quanta, we can provide a value-for-money package that enables individual researchers to obtain their results faster and more economically by alleviating the necessity for centralised testing of simple assays in core facilities. The system delivers a range of capabilities that is typically only available with larger, more expensive systems.ö Beckman Coulter has also introduced P50 tips for the companyÆs Biomek 3000, NX and FX and Multimek liquid handlers. These new narrow but long tips enable pipetting from the bottom of deep labware for maximum retrieval of valuable samples. The disposable, non-conductive P50 tips are ideal for work in both 96- and 384-well formats in a wide range of applications, including compound library profiling and assay development, MALDI-TOF plate spotting, sample pooling, plate replication and hit picking. The new tips pipette a volume of 50 ╡L with barrier and are certified to be RNase/DNase-free. They are offered in presterile, presterile with barrier or non-sterile forms. ôThese tips are the second offering in our new line of liquid handling consumables,ö commented Robert Lund, the systems business manager for Beckman Coulter. ôAnd users may be confident that the high quality of these disposable tips will be maintained by our comprehensive validation and certification processes at a systems level.ö P50 tips are configured with Biomek software and are compatible with a range of deep-well plates and tubes.