Breakthrough nanoscale infrared spectroscopy
technology from Anasys Instruments wins R&D Award

Anasys Instrument's nanoIR™ platform, a powerful new measurement tool, that reveals the chemical composition of samples at the nanoscale, has been selected to receive a prestigious R&D 100 Award.

The editors of R&D Magazine have announced the winners of the 48th Annual R&D 100 Awards, which salute the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year. "The launch of our nanoIR technology has generated lots of attention in spectroscopy and microscopy communities worldwide. The additional recognition by an external panel of experts through the R&D 100 award is very exciting," explains Kevin Kjoller, Anasys Instruments' co-Founder and VP of Product Development.

"With the nanoIR product we sought to overcome two major barriers--fundamental spatial resolution limits in convention infrared microspectroscopy and the lack of chemical characterization in atomic force microscopy (AFM). With this breakthrough we've exceeded spatial resolution in IR spectroscopy by more than an order of magnitude and can now do local chemical characterization and identification with the probe tip of an AFM," says Craig Prater, Chief Technology Officer of Anasys. In addition to revealing chemical composition, the nanoIR system provides high-resolution characterization of local topographic, mechanical, and thermal properties. nanoIR is providing a new tool to help facilitate materials and life science research at the nanoscale.

"Infrared microspectroscopy has already proven itself extremely valuable for addressing a wide range of problems in science and industry," says Dr. Curtis Marcott, senior partner at Light Light Solutions, a leading spectroscopy consultancy firm. "I'm excited about the new technology from Anasys, as it will let us break through the submicron spatial resolution barrier and apply IR spectroscopy to new classes of problems beyond our current capabilities." Dr. Marcott is the president-elect of the Society of Applied Spectroscopy and a retired research fellow from Procter & Gamble.

The nanoIR system is the result of several million dollars of government and private investment. Anasys Instruments was awarded $2.6 million in research grants from the NIST Advanced Technology Program and the National Science Foundation. U.S. and foreign patents are pending.

Potential nanoIR application areas include polymer blends, multilayer films and laminates, organic defect analysis, tissue morphology and histology, subcellular spectroscopy, and organic photovoltaics.

For further information, e-mail: roshan@anasysinstruments.com  Refer to page 346

Gas chromatography column selection by
application, manufacturer and regulatory methodology

Intuitive gas chromatography (GC) column selection tools are featured in the 2010-2011 Thermo Scientific Chromatography Columns and Consumables catalog.  The 'GC Column Selection' pages within the new catalog provide a number of tools to aid in selecting the most appropriate product from the Thermo Scientific TRACEÔ family of GC columns for either existing or regulated methods.

The 'Thermo Scientific TRACE Phase' selection table lists details for the wide array of phases offered in the TraceGOLDÔ, TRACE and TracePLOTÔ GC column ranges. The 'GC Column Selection by Manufacturer' table provides a quick cross reference for TRACE columns to GC columns from other manufacturers. If an ASTM, NIOSH or US EPA method is being followed, then the 'Column Selection by Method' tables indicate the best Thermo Scientific product.

The GC Column Selection pages also offer hints and tips for method development selection in terms of column phase, internal diameter, film thickness and column length. Meeting such requirements, the Thermo Scientific TRACE family of GC Columns offers high temperature stability and exhibits low bleed and long lifetimes. From general purpose non-polar to polar columns, TraceGOLD, TRACE and TracePLOT columns provide excellent quality and performance, with guaranteed reproducibility.  

Offering 540 pages of innovative and proven chromatography tools, including many novel and unique additions, the new catalog offers the broadest collection of products and techniques to meet all needs, from sample preparation to separation and analysis. This makes it a must-have reference for laboratories utilizing any form of chromatography.

To view the catalog online, order a new catalog or receive further information, view website: www.thermoscientific.com/catalog  Refer to next page

Thermo Fisher Scientific introduces the first rationally
designed research tool for stable expression of mature MicroRNA

Thermo Fisher Scientific's offer a new product for the long-term over-expression of mature microRNA. Thermo Scientific miRIDIAN shMIMIC Lentiviral microRNAs incorporate innovative design strategies that allow consistent processing of the mature microRNA and enhanced specificity, making them ideal for a variety of microRNA research applications.

miRIDIAN® shMIMIC™ Lentiviral microRNAs can induce stable over-expression of functional mature microRNA mimics by harnessing the endogenous microRNA processing pathway. The shMIMIC microRNA is effectively delivered into the cell using purified, high-titer lentiviral particles; this facilitates delivery even in difficult-to-transfect cell types such as primary cells, stem cells and non-dividing cell types. The shMIMIC microRNA is then processed in the same way as an endogenous microRNA gene, resulting in over-expression of the microRNA mimic and subsequent down-regulation of the microRNA target gene(s).

shMIMIC Lentiviral microRNAs incorporate unique design elements that are critical for accurate processing and efficient downstream activity of only the mature microRNA of interest while minimizing the effects of the star (*) strand.  shMIMIC lentiviral microRNAs have been effectively used by Thermo Fisher Scientific scientists to produce phenotypic responses to microRNA target gene down-regulation. Such studies provide valuable insight into microRNA participation in critical biological and disease pathways.

shMIMIC Lentiviral microRNAs are available in high-titer, purified lentiviral particle format for each human microRNA in the miRBase microRNA database. These unique, transduction-ready microRNA tools are ideal for phenotypic studies, drug discovery applications or to further studies of microRNA biology.

For further information about Thermo Scientific miRIDIAN shMIMIC Lentiviral microRNAs, or to search for the shMIMIC microRNA specific to your microRNA of interest, view website: www.thermo.com/shMIMICmicroRNAs   Refer to next page

Thermo Fisher Scientific demonstrates
software for simplified bioanalytical workflows

A new online demonstration of Thermo Scientific's TSQ Module™ software for Watson™ laboratory information management system (LIMS) is now available. This industry-first integration of LIMS and instrument control software coupled with the Thermo Scientific TSQ series LC-MS/MS system is designed to significantly increase efficiency by enabling data from the entire bioanalytical workflow to reside in a single database. The combination is also designed to provide increased regulatory control by managing the workflow from beginning to end with data review, processing, reporting and archiving all under the control of Thermo Scientific Watson LIMS.

To view a five-minute video demonstration, view website: www.thermoscientific.com/tsqmodulevideo

A new online demonstration of Thermo Scientific's TSQ Module™ software for Watson™ laboratory information management system (LIMS).

The Thermo Scientific TSQ Module works with Watson LIMS and TSQ Series mass spectrometers to enable direct LC/MS data acquisition. The TSQ Module enables LC-MS/MS methods to be part of worklists created in Watson LIMS that can be directly submitted to any configured TSQ Series mass spectrometers via the network. This functionality allows laboratory managers to balance workloads among multiple resources. The user friendly software offers seamless data processing, enabling easier sample tracking and management while providing Watson users with the ability to review in-process and completed samples. This LIMS and instrument control software combination provides confidence in data security throughout the entire bioanalytical workflow from method development to data archiving. Built-in data interchange enables peak integration and re-integration, storage, archiving and reporting of raw data all under control of Watson LIMS for enhanced security. Connectivity between the LIMS and the TSQ series mass spectrometers also eliminates time-consuming file transfers and manual verification of data. The system is designed to provide a single audit trail for QA and FDA requirements, resulting in improved workflow efficiencies as well as time and cost savings.

The video demonstration helps laboratory directors, managers and executives in Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) laboratories within pharmaceutical companies and CROs to understand how their everyday workflows can be improved by integrating LIMS and mass spectrometry hardware in the bioanalytical laboratory. The video provides an in-depth introduction to the software and guides customers virtually through the TSQ Module's simple intuitive interface for acquiring data and managing runs. It shows key capabilities of this powerful combination including the ability to select which runs to acquire on the TSQ Series and how to use the interactive environment to review the run list. Finally, the video demonstrates the solution's flexibility in assigning priority status to runs and the benefits of being able to directly perform data processing in Watson LIMS. 

"Our new video provides our customers with a visual understanding of this end-to-end solution and how it improves laboratory workflows. Users can see the benefits of allowing LIMS to control the entire bioanalytical workflow - it not only enables all study information to be stored in a single database but also gives users access via one software environment and simpler management of security and functionality," said Jonathan McNally, manager, Bioanalysis at Thermo Fisher Scientific.

For further information, e-mail: analyze@thermo.com or view website: www.thermoscientific.com/tsqmodulevideo   Refer to next page