RECENT PRODUCT NEWS

Faster and easier development of customised lateral flow assays is now possible with the new generic Rapid Assay Device (gRAD) kits from BioPorto, available exclusively in the UK from Alpha Laboratories. This open, flexible, versatile platform is not analyte dependent and gives total control to customise the assay using chosen antibodies. It offers interesting possibilities and applications by enabling the creation of lateral-flow assays tailored to individual needs.

Chest pain patients presenting at the emergency department are set to benefit from a major development by Royal Philips with the recent announcement that the company has CE marked its cardiac troponin I (cTnI) blood test on the Minicare I‐20 handheld device. Minicare cTnI delivers laboratory-comparable test results in less than 10 minutes near the patient, reducing the time needed to decide on treatment.

Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is a notoriously unstable and inconsistent assay, with many control products failing to meet the demands of today’s busy laboratory. Quality control is a passion at Randox and as such the company has developed a new solution to the stability problems experienced with PTH.

Recently, BD (Becton, Dickinson) obtained the CE mark in the UK and Europe for a next‐generation blood separation technology that is designed to enhance sample quality, improve laboratory efficiency and reduce laboratory turnaround time.

A major challenge facing clinicians is to identify patients suspected of colorectal cancer in primary care. Recently, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued a revised NG12 Suspected Cancer: Recognition and Referral guideline, which now includes the use of faecal occult blood (FOB) testing in the patient diagnostic pathway.

Launched recently, WASP Touch is a spiral plater designed for the needs of modern microbiology laboratories. With no need for a separate vacuum source, the system is simple to use and provides real cost savings and process improvements. The WASP Touch features touchscreen operation, an automatic sanitising system that maintains correct liquid levels in sanitising solutions, and an illuminated, covered working area.

Hologic has added the CE-marked Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay to the growing menu of molecular tests available on the fully automated Panther system.

The Image Navigator, available in the UK from Bio-Diagnostics, is an automated microscope that captures images of autoantibody indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) slides, separates the images into controls, possible positives, possible negatives, and titres, and then presents these images to the laboratory professional on separate review screens for easy and quick confirmation and reporting.  The Image Navigator system has been shown to improve accuracy and reproducibility in reading IIF assays.  The system includes a high-quality fluorescence microscope, so samples can be observed by the conventional method as well as in the automated format.

Anyone working in a laboratory and using pipettes and tips knows how much waste tip racks produce, how expensive they are to dispose of and the amount of space these used racks can occupy. For most laboratories the cost of running a recycling scheme can be prohibitory as they tend to be priced upon the weight of the plastic being recycled. That is why Rainin's TerraRack pipette tip racks, the winner of the Bronze Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice, are an ideal solution to this problem.

Quantitative faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) demonstrates greater sensitivity and specificity for faecal haemoglobin (f-Hb) than guaiac-based tests. Increased concentrations of f-Hb are indicative of greater risk of cancer and high-risk adenomas.

Designed to maximise productivity for bioprocessing customers, the new Thermo Scientific Sorvall BIOS 16 centrifuge offers an increased capacity of up to 16 L of cell culture product per run and special design features to make working with large volumes easier and more convenient.

The new TrueChrome Metrics camera from Stemmer Imaging provides fully integrated digital image capture and measurement for micro and macro scientific imaging applications, with the need for a PC. By plugging a mouse into the camera and connecting the HDMI camera output to a monitor, a wide range of multiform measurement tools allows measurements to be made on the high-quality images produced. The camera is capable of delivering measurements with a resolution of 10 nanometres, and the images are generated by the 2.3 megapixel Sony Exmor CMOS sensor. This allows the user to manipulate live images without any monitor lag.

The DxN VERIS, available from Beck Diagnostics, is a fully automated system for molecular diagnostics that is simple to use. DxN VERIS has all necessary consumables and reagents onboard, so tests can be up and running in less than 10 minutes, as there is no lengthy set-up.

Mast has announced the launch of its new, fourth-generation antibiotic disc dispenser, re-engineered to optimise performance of dispensing antibiotic susceptibility test (AST), combination and identification discs in the Mastdiscs range.

Mast has launched a new addition to the Mastdiscs stock cartridge range, Ceftolozane/tazobactam 30/10 (C/T40C). Merck has launched the intravenous antibiotic Zerbaxa (ceftolozane/tazobactam) in the UK for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, acute pyelonephritis and complicated urinary tract infections in nosocominal environments.

Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology has introduced its new 530 peristaltic cased pump for upstream and downstream bioprocessing tasks, building on a platform of precise, high-purity peristaltic technology. New features include colour HMI display and intuitive menu structures that provide visual status indication and minimal key strokes.

The newly CE-marked range of Thermo Scientific environmental chambers provides temperature control above and below ambient. There are two models available, the wide temperature units with humidity (available in 311 L and 821 L) and a heat?only model (available in 821 L) that is tailored for large?scale clinical applications and microbiology. For applications that require close control of a CO2 environment, there is an optional infrared CO2 package available that can be added to the wide temperature model.

Air Science has introduced its new line of biological safety cabinets. The Purair BIO is designed to protect individuals, the environment and products from various biological particulates. As a Class 2 Type A2 biosafety cabinet, the Purair BIO minimises and contains biosafety level 1–3 agents, maintaining negative pressure inside the cabinet during operation to prevent contaminants from escaping the work area.

Maximising the information captured from life and materials science samples is now possible with ease and simplicity, with the new Olympus UC90 microscope camera. The UC90 captures and documents real-life details, while a 4K UHD mode supports users in maximising the many benefits of complete on-screen operation.

Torrey Pines Scientific has announced its EchoTherm models IC30 and IC30XT, Peltier-driven high-capacity chilling/heating dry baths capable of handling various sized sample blocks. The IC30 (–10°C to 100°C) and IC30XT (–20°C to 100°C) can freeze, chill or heat samples in various sample blocks that can hold 0.2–50 mL centrifuge tubes, test tubes, vials, assay plates and even round-bottom flasks.