The new generation of water powered DOSATRON® dosing pumps with
a higher performance and no metal parts - Thanks to VICTREX® PEEK^TM

DOSATRON©, a global leader in water powered dosing pumps, is revitalizing its product range and presents the DOSATRON D3 product series - the latest generation of this practice-proven dosing pump to meter out and mix liquids or water-soluble concentrates. The ingenious technological innovation is founded on a simplified design of the "water motor" with no metal parts and with a driving system made of the high performance polymer VICTREX® PEEK^TM.

Leveraging 30 years international experience in the field of dosing medicines for livestock, fertilizers in irrigation systems, soluble oils in industry, cleaning agents and disinfectants for hygiene, the DOSATRON D3 product series consolidates and surpasses the very best from Dosatron and its technologies.

When connected to the water mains the Dosatron pump uses water pressure as its exclusive driving force. The water pressure forces the concentrate downstream and the required amount is metered and mixed with the propulsion water. The solution produced in this manner is then pumped into a water pipe. The dose of concentrate will be directly proportional to the volume of water entering the Dosatron pump, regardless of variations in flow and pressure which may occur in the main line.

The Dosatron Development Department has optimized the concept of a highly simplified differential hydraulic piston motor (17 parts instead of 52 parts). This has been possible as a result of two new Dosatron patents. The new design does not contain a single metal part and features a valve driving system with a spring blade made with the thermoplastic VICTREX PEEK polymer.

The exceptional mechanical properties of this polymer have enabled Dosatron engineers to proceed along a completely new course in product development. The outstanding properties of VICTREX PEEK, for example, excellent creep resistance, a high yield strength and fatigue performance even at high loads, have made it possible to develop a premium and reliable spring function. This entirely injection-moulded part eliminates the need for mounting of metal parts. Moreover, corrosion problems that can be associated with special steel springs are now a thing of the past as a result of VICTREX PEEK's high level of chemical resistance even in aggressive environments. Furthermore, the polymer's excellent resistance to fluids such as acids and chlorine products enables the dosing pump to be deployed in extremely varied application areas.   

Finally, the Dosatron dosing pump motor, designed without any metal parts around a high performance spring made of VICTREX PEEK, offers improved reliability and longer life, because of fewer moving parts. The motor is very easy to maintain and can be simply assembled or disassembled. The number of individual parts has been halved, chemical resistance has been improved adding greater safety, ease of use and maintenance, have all made it possible to significantly boost performance compared with the Dosatron's previous series.

The maximum water flow increased to 3 m³/h, without increasing the frequency of cycles or pressure loss, while keeping the minimum flow at 10 l/h. The dosing rates of models currently available have been extended to 0.2 - 2%, 0.5 - 5%, 1-10%, while models with dosing rates of 0.05 - 0.5% and 5 - 25% will be added in 2009. The injection settings cover injection rates of between 0.005 and 500 liters per hour with complete accuracy being maintained over the entire range. This increase in injection capacity also applies to intake suction of viscous products (powder solutions or liquids).

DOSATRON® in profile
With an export production exceeding 85%, DOSATRON is internationally represented in more than 100 countries. The company maintains a comprehensive network of instantly accessible professional sales partners as a genuine world-wide link for instant, close proximity with clients.

For further information, view website: www.dosatron.com or contact Hilde Van Steijn, e-mail: hilde.vansteijn@dosatron.com

Dolomite, world leader in microfluidic design and
manufacture, continues to expand microfluidic capabilities

Dolomite offer a range of microfluidic valves and pumps which can be used in isolation, in sub-systems, or built into fully integrated systems. The new range of solenoid valves and metering pumps are incredibly small yet powerful tools in microfluidics, offering the ability to provide very precise fluid control, whilst maintaining a small overall system size.

The high-quality valves and pumps are made from inert materials such as PTFE and PEEK for maximum chemical resistance. The novel solenoid valves and metering pumps are designed with the smallest possible dead-volumes to maximise sample availability, which is of the utmost importance in microfluidic systems. The low dead volume also makes the valves ideal for integration with Dolomite's microfluidic chips. The small installation area allows new opportunities in designing complex systems with a very small footprint. (Refer to the picture above).

"With these new valves and pumps, we have introduced additional flexibility into our customized microfluidic system solutions, increasing the range of possible applications. With our extensive experience of solving microfluidic problems, we really understand our customers' need so we provide true tailor-made microfluidic systems", said Mike Hawes, Dolomite's Head of Marketing.

Dolomite specialises in custom devices and complete instrument design allowing smaller, faster, cost-effective and more powerful systems to be developed. Dolomite's versatile and innovative standard range of products also includes microfluidic chips, connectors / interconnects and pumps.

For further information, e-mail: mike.hawes@syrris.com   Refer to page 244

Dolomite offer high-quality microfluidic flow rate sensors

Dolomite, a world leader in microfluidic design and manufacture, has entered a partnership with Sensirion, a leading sensor manufacturer to offer a range of Microfluidic Flow Meters to measure ultra-low liquid flow rates in the laboratory. This technology allows for sensor-actuator integration in Dolomite's range of microfluidic products and therefore precise flow rate control. The compact and lightweight devices operate with total media isolation in combination with low internal volume and no moving parts for an extremely fast and accurate performance. Incorporating the innovative CMOSens® technology, stable and precise results are obtained with every measurement.

With the ability to accurately measure flow rates from 0.05 to 4000 µl/min, and minimal energy consumption this technology provides a highly cost-effective measurement method. The low flow sensors are capable of operation at high pressures with high resolution within a large dynamic range, to achieve excellent accuracy as well as highly repeatable results and offset stability.

A range of Microfluidic Flow Meters to measure ultra-low liquid flow rates in the laboratory.

The unsurpassed CMOSens sensor technology from Sensirion combines a highly precise thermal sensor element for exact temperature control with an A/D converter circuit and digital signal processing to ensure an extremely sensitive response is obtained. All measured data is fully-calibrated via an internal microcontroller. Such outstanding results are obtained due to the integration of highly sensitive thermo piles into an extremely fast, miniaturised thermal microsensor element. With all of the precise signal-conditioning of a single CMOS chip, mass flow measurements of the liquid flows on the µl and nl scale are made possible. Furthermore, excellent chemical resistance and bio-compatibility make this compact sensor ideal for a wide range of microfluidic applications.

These Microfluidic Flow Rate Sensors are available as part of a laboratory kit, which includes all of the software and fittings required for immediate use. The easy-to-use software enables simple capture, visualisation and exporting of any measurement data. For high volume solutions highly efficient microsensors based on the same technology are available. For further information, www.dolomite-microfluidics.com    Refer to page 240

The 'coolest' way to achieve reproducible benchtop cooling and freezing

Thermo-conductive CoolRacks™ from BioCision introduce critical reproducibility and instant organisation into benchtop sample cooling and freezing for the clinical, diagnostics, pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO markets.

Reproducible sample collection, handling and storage is critical to obtaining meaningful experimental and clinical trial data, but often simple procedures such as benchtop sample cooling, freezing and snap-freezing can vary from sample to sample, researcher to researcher, clinic to clinic, day to day. CoolRack thermo-conductive tube, plate and sample holders standardise temperature control and hence they are rapidly setting a new bar for laboratory and clinical sample management.

Precision-engineered and manufactured from novel patent-pending thermo-adaptive alloy, CoolRacks quickly equilibrate all wells to within 0.1ºC of the source temperature. CoolRacks are portable, versatile and can be easily implemented in any procedure requiring ice, dry ice, liquid nitrogen, water bath, heat block or any other laboratory temperature source. All samples are kept upright at exactly the same temperature regardless of well position, and racked samples can be moved from ice to water bath en masse, giving a rapid identical temperature shift for all samples. In addition to eliminating temperature variability, CoolRacks are designed to provide stable, compact and indexed organisation, saving valuable time and reducing user errors commonly associated with directly immersing tubes or plates in ice, dry ice or other sources.

For ice-free portable cooling and freezing, CoolRacks can be paired with CoolBox™ which utilises cartridges to maintain cooling and freezing temperatures on the benchtop, in biosafety cabinets or in GMP suites where ice could be a potential source of contamination.

Snap-freezing or freezing samples to dry ice or liquid nitrogen temperatures has never been easier. When using a CoolRack for these procedures, samples are not directly immersed into dry ice, dry ice/alcohol slurries or liquid nitrogen, minimising user errors, accidents, temperature profile variability, damage and contamination from alcohol or liquid nitrogen immersion.

CoolRacks can be used for many portable temperature applications, as Rolf Ehrhardt, BioCision CEO explains: 'In the context of the worldwide effort to standardise common sample-handling processes,^1,2 CoolRacks introduce simplicity and reproducibility to a variety of basic research and clinical protocols involving temperature-sensitive biologics, vaccines, RNA, DNA and enzymes.'

CoolRacks are available in a comprehensive range of formats for use with cryo tubes, microfuge tubes, PCR strips and plates, and many other consumables, and can be easily integrated into any process or diagnostic or clinical kit. In conjunction with CoolBox, CoolRacks can also be used for short-term sample transfer or transportation, as the CoolBox maintains the temperature of CoolRack for up to eight hours. For further information, view website: www.biocision.com  Refer to page 288