Standardization of Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS
across NI Water Labs enables integration with CSols Remote Sampler,
delivers enhanced audit trail, sample integrity and significant time savings

Northern Ireland Water (NI Water), the sole provider of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland, has standardized on Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS (laboratory information management system) across its laboratories as part of its continuous focus on improving sample management and maintaining the highest quality water. SampleManager LIMS is used to manage more than 150,000 samples per year taken from reservoirs, water treatment works and directly from the taps in consumers' homes. NI Water's state-of-the-art laboratories carry out the necessary testing to ensure that drinking water is safe for consumption and meets all regulatory and quality standards.

Standardizing on SampleManager LIMS across its laboratories allows NI Water to maintain the highest levels of testing and consistency in results. To enhance the quality of the test methods and to reduce time associated with collecting and logging field samples, NI Water has integrated a new handheld remote sampler with SampleManager LIMS. This allows field samples to be taken, results recorded and input directly into the LIMS, saving time, ensuring the quality of the sample at log-in, and reducing manual transcription errors as well as providing a secure record of sampler locations.

Remote Sampler, developed by CSols, is already in pilot usage with customers across Europe and in UK-based water companies, who are using Remote Sampler with existing SampleManager LIMS installations. The introduction of Remote Sampler at NI Water extends the use of SampleManager LIMS to field applications, thus allowing more samples to be processed by in-the-field sampling. Because Remote Sampler reduces the time necessary to collect and log-in a sample, it enables more efficient use of laboratory resources, as well as consistent compliance with various regulatory requirements for documented processes, such as those defined by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) for the Water Industry.

"We have introduced Remote Sampler in the field for all our water quality samplers. Remote Sampler runs on rugged handheld computers and integrates seamlessly with Thermo Scientific SampleManager LIMS. The use of Remote Sampler allows us to ensure that all samples taken in the field are accurately recorded, taken where they are claimed to be, and inputted into the LIMS at source. This saves time and facilitates data management," said Gareth Maxwell, LIMS and Compliance Reporting Manager for NI Water. "With SampleManager LIMS in place and our investment in remote sampling, NI Water is setting the benchmark in the future of water testing in Europe. This solution puts NI Water in the leading edge of extracting real benefits from our quality testing programme. NI Water will have better sampling audits than most other UK water utilities currently."

"We're delighted with the working relationship that we have with Gareth and the rest of the staff at Northern Ireland Water. It has enabled us to focus on exactly what is required to make our sampling software work effectively in a busy routine environment which is tightly regulated," said Dr. Phil Goddard, CEO of CSols. "Integration with SampleManager LIMS has proved to be straightforward and robust."

NI Water is a Government Owned Company (GoCo) set up in April 2007 to provide the water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland. It supplies 625 million liters of clean water every day for nearly 1.7 million people and treats 134 million m³ of wastewater each year. NI Water has equipped its laboratories with the technologies and infrastructure that allow it to deliver the highest quality water which consistently meets all regulatory and quality standards for consumption. SampleManager LIMS integrated with Remote Sampler has improved the efficiency and security of data entry as samples are taken in the various field locations, and greatly assisted sample identification and tracking. As all samples are now recorded on a single electronic database, the integrated solution has provided NI Water with a means to retrieve and report data in a way that would not have been previously possible, while also ensuring the integrity of field samples at log-in.

"The integration of the Remote Sampler with SampleManager LIMS illustrates the broad partnership opportunities inherent in any collaborative relationship with Thermo Fisher Scientific," says Dave Champagne, vp and general manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific - Informatics. "Thermo Fisher's long standing partnership with CSols enabled this solution to be delivered to NI Water, a solution which now serves as a template for other water agencies or public service companies around the world. And the configurability of SampleManager LIMS, allowing for workflow customization in any industry setting, as well as its ability to be easily integrated with any kind of laboratory instrumentation or ERP system, further enabled this new Remote Sampler solution to be realized. The ultimate benefits belong to NI Water and other companies at the forefront of solving pressing industry challenges." 

For further information, e-mail: marketing.informatics@thermofisher.com or view website: www.thermoscientific.com/informatics   Refer to next page

New SERVOPRO Chroma enables simultaneous
hydrocarbon measurement in cryogenic ASU production

In combining the latest Plasma Emission Detector technology with improved operational and communications capabilities, the SERVOPRO Chroma from Servomex gives cryogenic ASU operators total flexibility in measuring hydrocarbons present in ambient air.

Constant hydrocarbon measurement is crucial in ASU production, as hydrocarbons that build up in the cryogenic portion of the process pose an explosion risk when mixed with enriched air or pure oxygen. Depending on the results of an ambient air test to determine the types and level of hydrocarbons present, plant operators must decide whether to measure for Total Hydrocarbons Measurement (THC), Methane and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons (CH₄ & NMHC), or measure for individual hydrocarbons including Methane, Acetylene, Propane, Propylene, Ethane and Ethylene.

THC Measurement, where the variety of hydrocarbons in ambient air is limited, can be monitored using Flame Ionization Detector (FID) technology such as that provided by Servomex's SERVOPRO FID. However when the ambient air at a plant contains a variety of hydrocarbons that have different Lower Explosive Limits (LEL), many operators choose to separate the total measurement into two measurements for Methane and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons. These measurements usually require setting separate trip points at which a plant can be shut down to avoid an explosion, with CH₄ usually measured over a 0-100 ppm range and the lower-LEL NMHC measured over a 0-5 ppm range.

However if a plant trip point set for a FID analyser is based solely on a CH₄ measurement range, the potential exists for Non-Methane Hydrocarbons to accumulate above their LEL and the possibility of dangerous operating conditions. Conversely, if a trip point is based on a lower NMHC ppm level, then the FID analyser may initiate an unnecessary and costly plant shutdown too early and too often as the safe CH₄ level activates the lower NMHC trip point.

By housing two separate Plasma Emission Detectors, each with separate valve and column channels to individually and simultaneously measure CH₄ and NMHC, the SERVOPRO Chroma is the complete solution for the coincident measurement of Methane and Non-Methane Hydrocarbons. As the Chroma's Plasma technology requires only an Argon or Helium carrier gas to function, and does not require the constant flowing fuel gas required by FID detection techniques, installation costs - including the installation of shut off valves & LEL Gas Detectors -  and overall cost-of-ownership for the Chroma is considerably reduced in comparison  to using FID technologies for this application.

The Chroma is designed for easy operation, with integrated software that improves on the Chroma's predecessor, the KA k4000, to offer full access to all functions, measurements and system status via a intuitive user interface. Ease of use is complemented by a comprehensive range of communication options, with individual 4-20mA outputs available for each measurement and improved ethernet and internet connectivity enabling the unit to be remotely monitored via a network or an internet browser.

For further information view website: www.servomex.com

JPK Instruments' NanoWizard provides valuable
information about the Iceman for the Ludwig-Maximilians
University in Munich and the European Academy in Bolzano

JPK Instruments, a world-leading manufacturer of nanoanalytic instrumentation for research in life sciences and soft matter, reports on the work of the Stark research group at LMU-Munich in cooperation with the EURAC Bolzano where a NanoWizard® AFM system has been used to reveal the nanostructure and mechanics of mummified type I collagen from the 5300-year-old Tyrolean Iceman.

Studying historical artifacts is always of interest and when the latest nanotechnology instrumentation is applied to the analysis of ancient materials, the interest rises to a higher level. In the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, scientists work on nanoscale biomaterial characterization. Their efforts have recently been showcased in the study of mummified skin from the 5300 year old Tyrolean Iceman. By way of background, skin protects the body from pathogens and degradation. Even mummified skin retains this function. The action of micro-organisms or other external influences may degrade the connective tissue and lay the subjacent tissue open. To determine the degree of tissue preservation in mummified human skin and the reason for its durability, PhD-student Marek Janko of Professor Robert Stark's research group has investigated the structural integrity of its main protein, type I collagen using an atomic force microscope, the NanoWizard® II, from JPK Instruments.

Refer to the picture: To determine the degree of tissue preservation in mummified human skin and the reason for its durability, PhD-student Marek Janko uses the NanoWizard® II atomic force microscope, from JPK Instruments.   

Janko's research focuses on the study of mechanical properties of nanobio materials. Use of AFM and Raman spectroscopy are non invasive techniques and samples may be re-analyzed many times. The choice of the NanoWizard for this work is two-fold. The combination of AFM with optical microscopy enables normal histology tissue samples, 2-4 microns thick and relatively "rough" to be readily studied in ambient conditions. The optical microscope enable identification of areas for study and then the AFM is used to effectively zoom in to study individual fibrils on the tens of nanometer scale. Being able to zoom to and study a single fibril just 30-40nm in height means the individual repeat units of 67nm may be identified and probed. This enables nanoindentation studies to be carried employing force-versus-distance measurements to measure mechanical properties and in particular, Young's modulus.

For further information, e-mail: dammermann@jpk.com or view website: www.jpk.com  Refer to page 295