The liquid food industry is characterised by an increasing focus on product differentiation, achieved through new packaging materials and design, increased shelf life, consumer convenience and new products. An increased rate of innovation and introduction of new packaging systems are essential for survival in the future.

For centuries, people have attributed many favourable benefits to tea. Today, their assumptions are being confirmed as research shows that drinking tea can help prevent certain diseases. This arises from the antioxidants found in tea leaves. Eric Russell reports.

Recent food and drink highlights from Mintel's Global New Products Database include sugar-free Red Bull energy drink and microwaveable Doritos snacks.

A physicochemical profile is important for predicting drug absorption, disposition and transport. This involves measuringa number of properties which many laboratories are ill-equippedto handle. One solution is to use contract analytical services.

Fusionantibodies' technology offers affordable synthesis of recombinant proteins using high-throughput techniques that enable rapid production and analysis of fusion proteins.

The development of chemiluminescence as an alternative to radioactivity for documentation of electrophoresis blots (eg Westerns) has necessitated the development of a new generation of documentation systems with exceptionally high sensitivity and dynamic range.

As electronic regulatory submissions take hold, large and small companies alike scramble to keep up with technology and guideline advancement. As Cathy Brode explains, it's all about maximising market opportunities for new drugs and treatments.

Labcaire Systems has recently introduced a new model to complete their line-up of laminar-flow PCR preparation cabinets, which assist operators in producing contamination-free PCR samples.

Laboratory cleaning solutions must be specifically formulated for the special needs of research laboratory technicians and scientists.

Eucomed, the European Medical Technology Industry Association, has called on EU decision-makers to encourage and actively promote equitable and timely patient and clinician access to existing medical technologies for Parkinson's Disease, and more research into new therapies.

AMEC, the international engineering services company, has been awarded a major contract to provide detailed design and construction services for a new US$18.5 million global vaccine research centre for UK-based Shire Pharmaceuticals Group PLC.

Dr. Manfred Kässens reports on how image analytical software has been adapted to meet the demands of the regulation entitled FDA 21 CFR Part 11.

The development over the past 20 years of Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) has revolutionised the study of biological samples and tissue sections, enabling subtle changes and molecular interactions to be monitored in living cells.

For labs with sterilisation and sample heating applications requiring precision, flexibility and high operational safety the Fireboy range of mobile Bunsen burners from Integra Biosciences provide a solution.

Rotary evaporators are mostly used to either separate a solvent from a non-evaporating product or to recycle the solvents for further use.

In the last issue of Elab, the principles behind ultrasonic spectroscopy were introduced. Here, Cormac Smyth,Evgeny Kudriashov, Breda O'Driscoll and Vitaly Buckintake a closer look at its practical applications.

Autoscribe Ltd's Varian Galaxie chromatography data system is now available. Galaxie is fully scalable from single chromatograph workstations to global implementations with an easy upgrade path.

Focusing the sound waves used in ultrasound devices has always posed a number of technical challenges. However, a new innovation from Germany that gives greater control over the sound waves could lead to far more accurate ultrasound-based tools.

Evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD) has become widely used in the field of HPLC. For non-UV absorbing compounds, ELSD is a primary choice since the principle of detection does not rely on the optical properties of the solute.

The demand for immunoglobulin is high and is predicted to rise. John Curling reports that current goals are to improve yield of immunoglobulin while maintaining product quality.