Sterilisation may be defined as the statistically complete destruction of all microorganisms including the most resistant bacteria and spores.

In February, the McIlvaine 2006 world forecast for cleanroom hardware and consumables was$9.1 billion.

Ohaus Corporation's new Pro Series balances comprises three Adventurer Pro, Explorer Pro and Scout Pro

For laboratories concerned by certification or accreditation, the use of certified reference materials traceable to their national standards is highly recommended. Patricia Dalmas reports.

Two guidelines of the International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) contain standardised terminology, a verified model of requirements for the validation of analytical procedures, and guidelines concerning the practical aspects of conducting validation studies. Marco Zeller discusses the practical application of these formal requirements for the validation of analytic limit tests specifically for thin layer procedures, which may be used for quantitative and qualitative determinations of impurities in pharmaceutical testing.

Dr Paul Whitehead looks at effective systems for controlling the problem of bacterial levels in pure water for laboratories.

Neville J Mitchell discusses thermocouple materials for validation within pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Many applications within the field of life sciences need vacuum.

M H B Grote Gansey reports on the use of semiconductor technology for the measurement of calcium, sodium, potassium and nitrate ion concentrations.

Ilmdest from ILMVAC is a new way to distil solvents in the laboratory.

At last a code of conduct for bioinformatic data providers has been formulated. As Adrian Fergus explains, this will help the industry handle its ever increasing volumes of complex and often interrelated data.

More than ones million probes analyse the expression of almost50 000 RNA transcripts and variants on a single array the sizeof a dime ­ the transcribed human genome is now available ona single chip.

Being the most prominent regulators of vital functions, peptides have always spurred much interest for therapeutic applications.

In the high-stakes race to bring new biotech drugs to market faster, manufacturers rely on innovative technologies to improve yields and safeguard purity.

Porvair Sciences has launched MaxiLute an innovative new 48-well Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) sample preparation microplate system.

LTE Scientific launched a trade-in campaign on any purchase of a new LTE autoclave.

PickPen 1-M is a hand-held practical tool for the transfer of magnetic particles in different sample purification applications.

The use of office documents like Word and Excel spreadsheets is widespread in the pharmaceutical companies. The 21 CRF Part 11 requirements demand that where necessary strict controls apply to those documents used for critical data. Here, Freek Varossieau looks at Excel spreadsheets and how to bring these in compliance.

Dr K Ehrensberger looks at how an ambitious laboratory buy an affordable laboratory information system.

Jenoptik Laser, Optik, Systeme GmbH has further extended its range of high-grade digital microscope cameras.