Thermo Fisher Scientific Showcases Product Innovation at PITTCON 2008

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today launched significant new technologies at PITTCON 2008 that are designed to make advanced analytical techniques available to a wider range of end users and applications. PITTCON, the world's largest conference and exposition for laboratory science, is under way in New Orleans from March 3–6.

“We have an exciting new product line-up at PITTCON again this year, with innovations that make it easier for our customers to take advantage of the most sophisticated analytical technologies available for their application – from research to routine,” said Marc N. Casper, executive vice president of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Our goal is to simplify laboratory processes for our customers so they can move science forward by achieving their goals more rapidly and cost effectively.”

The company is showcasing an array of instruments, equipment, consumables, software and services that fortify Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific as the premier brands in the scientific community. This industry-leading portfolio of laboratory offerings is on display in booths 1741 and 1721.

Among the new technologies, products and capabilities introduced this year at PITTCON are:

Molecular Spectroscopy

Thermo Fisher Scientific has leveraged the rugged, reliable architecture of its existing spectroscopy portfolio to deliver a new class of instruments to users who can benefit from FT-IR and Raman capabilities, but who, until now, lacked sufficient time or expertise to use them. New solutions under the theme, “spectroscopy simplified,” include:

Thermo Scientific Nicolet™ iS™10 FT-IR spectrometer – powered by new OMNIC™ Specta™ software, this easy-to-use system simplifies spectroscopy, enabling chemists in analytical and investigative chemistry laboratories to take advantage of the power of FT-IR.
Thermo Scientific Nicolet™ iN™10 FT-IR microscope – powered by new OMNIC™ Picta™ software, this FT-IR microscope is a significant development that simplifies infrared microscopy for chemists in analytical and investigative chemistry laboratories.
Thermo Scientific DXR SmartRaman spectrometer – a new Raman platform designed specifically for the needs and environment of the quality control (QC) laboratory, it will enable many QC labs to harness the power of the Raman technique for the first time.
Thermo Scientific DXR Raman microscope – designed to help non-specialist users perform rapid sampling and analysis of small features, down to one-micron spatial resolution, this novel microscope also offers superior overall performance and outstanding reproducibility in a package that anyone can use.

Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography

Thermo Fisher Scientific expands the broadest mass spectrometry offering in the industry with innovative systems that dramatically increase the amount of useful information a scientist yields from analyses, with fewer sample preparation requirements, higher throughput and greater confidence in the results. Enhancements to the Thermo Scientific mass spectrometry portfolio include:

Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap XL ETD and Thermo Scientific MALDI LTQ Orbitrap – these advancements bring electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) capabilities to the award-winning LTQ Orbitrap® hybrid series of mass spectrometers. The LTQ Orbitrap XL ETD is the only ETD instrument with both high resolution and accurate mass, enabling the ultimate in definitive protein characterization. The new MALDI LTQ Orbitrap series accelerates the analysis of whole tissue, biological and polymer samples by leveraging the ultrahigh resolution and accurate mass Orbitrap capabilities.
Thermo Scientific MALDI LTQ XL™ mass spectrometer with ImageQuest™ software – this new, sensitive tissue-imaging platform makes it easier for scientists to analyze whole tissue, biological and polymer samples without extensive sample preparation.
Thermo Scientific ITQ™ Series of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) ion trap instruments – featuring external ionization, the novel ITQ 700™, ITQ 900™ and ITQ 1100™ ion trap systems are fully upgradeable and provide high performance and high specificity. Developed for a wide range of applications, from routine GC/MS to research-grade ion trap MS, these new GC/MS systems address the analytical needs of the environmental, food safety, pharmaceutical QA/QC, forensics and toxicology industries, as well as academic laboratories.

Elemental Spectroscopy

Thermo Scientific NITON XL3 Series handheld elemental analyzers – equipped with new capabilities that reinforce the company’s position as the leading provider of handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, the NITON XL3 platform is purpose-built for nondestructive elemental analysis. Now featuring light elemental analysis and small-spot focus technology, the NITON XL3 serves numerous applications, including analysis of metal alloys for scrap metal recycling, QA/QC in manufacturing and fabrication environments, RoHS compliance, and toy and consumer goods screening.

UV-Vis Spectroscopy

Thermo Scientific NanoDrop line of micro-volume spectroscopy systems – making their debut at PITTCON 2008 after being acquired by Thermo Fisher in 2007, these unique instruments use a patented technology that enables easy measurement of UV-Vis and fluorescence by eliminating the use of cuvettes and associated dilutions. The systems are designed for applications involving small sample volumes, increasingly required in emerging life sciences research that requires measurement of DNA and proteins.

Informatics

Darwin LIMS™ 3.0 laboratory information management system – brings significant functionality enhancements to the pharmaceutical industry through a purpose-built LIMS designed specifically for QA/QC, offering environmental monitoring, dissolution, stability management, product and batch management and system interfacing.

Water Analysis

Thermo Scientific Orion Dual Star Meter – a new benchtop meter ideal for wastewater labs that require quick and easy measurements of pH and ammonia and for food labs that routinely measure pH and sodium levels simultaneously.
Thermo Scientific Orion ROSS Ultra® triodes™ and Thermo Scientific Orion Green electrodes – new, environmentally friendly electrodes that offer high performance, ease of use and durability.
Thermo Scientific Barnstead™ High Purity Lab Water Systems – including NANOpure® and the DIamond™ RO reverse osmosis system, these products feature state-of-the-art purification technologies integrated within ergonomic, user-friendly designs. They provide scientists with high-purity water for critical analytical and research applications, including molecular biology and cell culture in life science research.

Also featured at PITTCON this year is the Applications Lab, located between the Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific exhibits in booth 1735. The Lab brings the premier brands together in examples of two complete workflow solutions, for proteomics and food safety applications. The proteomics workflow includes everything necessary for complete differential protein expression analysis – from cell culture media to the unparalleled mass accuracy of the Orbitrap. The food safety workflow incorporates reagents, chromatography, mass spectrometry, microbiology and LIMS to provide a complete solution for both pesticide residue and pathogen analysis. These typical laboratory workflows show how easily the range of Thermo Fisher Scientific offerings can be integrated in a customer setting.