Surface plasmon resonance enables the detailed study of biomolecular function in real time and without the need for fluorescent tags or radioactive markers, and often without the need for prior purification. Elab reports.

The Centaurµs infrared (IR) microscope, from Thermo Nicolet, has been designed for the rapid throughput of samples in the pharmaceutical, polymer, forensic and microelectronic industries.

Products spanning the analytical spectrum won top honours at the annual Pittcon Editors' Awards judging session in New Orleans this year, according to Dr. Gordon Wilkinson, consultant editor to Instrumenta who organised the informal poll of editors and journalists covering this major industry event for analytical instruments and laboratory equipment.

A bioanalyser used in conjuction with a kit to size DNA fragments generated by restriction enzyme digestion can overcome limitations of slab gel electrophoresis. Odilo Mueller reports.

As the sequence of the human genome is deciphered, determining gene function and gene expression are becoming the focus of life science research. Carola Schade and Achim Wehren reports.

The purity of the major reagent used in all laboratories is often not fully monitored and recorded. This, as Jean-François Pilette reports, means organic contamination is not often determined.

Sensitive removal of cells from the bioreactor, the addition of fresh media and the removal of cell debris for purification combined are a significant aid to cancer research. Carrie Bracco reports.

Users of CO2 incubators are greatly concerned by contamination. In fact, it is better to use an instrument which is designed to inhibit contamination than one that sterilises a susceptible chamber after contamination has occurred.

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has changed the way we do life sciences, but the impact of this technology has reached far beyond that, into clinical settings and other fields of study such as gene/drug discovery, forensic science, ecology, archaeology, genetics/molecular biology, and anthropology. Craig M Sampson reports.

The most recent generation of the proven Variomag reaction blocks, by H+P Labortechnik, offers all the features that combine chemistry and substance research demand: parallel synthesis and a completely automate process. This system is so flat that it is easy to integrate with pipette robots (liquid handler) such as a Tecan Genesis.

Dr Caiping Wang looks at the potential of Diaban, a Chinese herbal medicine designed by modern biotechnology and traditional Chinese medicine, in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

The YSI 8500 CO2 monitor measures dissolved carbon dioxide in bioprocess development applications. Engineered to fit within a variety of bioreactors, the unit delivers precise, real-time data that increases an understanding of critical fermentation and cell culture processes. This data can help in gaining insight into cell metabolism, cell culture productivity, and other changes within bioreactors.

The term asuperficial' has had bad press. If you only look at the surface, it implies, you miss all the detail. But it is not really true. You can find out a great deal from surfaces a either by looking at them, or by exploiting their properties. You just have to know the right way to look, and with which tools. Stuart Nathan reports.

The MP-Micro fluid bed is a bench-top machine which allows laboratories to optimise formulations and identify process parameters for a wide range of products. It is designed for research and development projects and is claimed to have the flexibility of a full sized fluid bed dryer in a compact unit.

Eric Russell looks at the technical advances in genomics and proteomics which have spawned a related revolution in the growing field of bioinformatics. This can be described as the acquisition, analysis, and storage of biological information, specifically nucleic acid and protein sequences. Such growth is also fuelling the demand for more software development.

In the aftermath of the BSE crisis food manufacturers began to investigate the substitution of animal proteins by plant proteins.

Particle shape and function are intimately linked. However, because of the lack of a universal shape analysis technique, the exact relationship between the two has been hard to define. As David Higgs explains, new technology is now likely to solve this problem.

The MLS2000, from Monitherm Ltd, is based around an industrial PC with a current maximum of 128 radio transmitter sensors which can be located up to 250 metres from the base station.

Dr Paul N Goulding discusses some of the important aspects of getting anumbers from pictures' ­ that is quantitative gel analysis.

The Cytocentrifuge-Cytospin 4 is a versatile processing system suitable for use in the fields of immunohistochemistry, fluorescence and in-situ hybridisation, in vitro chemosensitivity and rapid viral testing.