Bioprocessing
Advanced Pipetting Heads Streamline Cell Culture Workflows
The VIAFLO 96/384 has been improved with the addition of two new 24-channel pipetting heads. Designed to make cell biology workflows more efficient and reliable, these handheld, electronic pipettes allow plate filling, reagent addition, or sample transfers to be performed in a single step. This design improvement allows the user to fill a 24-well plate in seconds. Two versions of the 24-channel heads are available — a 10–300-μL option for cell and reagent addition and a 50–1,250-μL version for media and buffer transfers. Both options use the company’s proprietary GripTip system, which provides precise alignment and eliminates the risk of pipette tips leaking or falling off. The pipetting heads are easily interchangeable to allow switching between workflows, helping to reduce human error and make lab results more accurate and reproducible.
Integra Biosciences
Benchtop Platform Enables Digital Genome Engineering
The Onyx digital genome-engineering platform allows scientists to create libraries of millions of precisely engineered single cells in one experiment. The platform fully automates workflows to simplify operation. The CRISPR-mediated, massively parallel platform — which includes all of the needed software, consumables, instruments, and assays — allows researchers to engineer microbial libraries containing the full breadth and scope of possible edit types. Onyx supports genome discovery, healthcare, and sustainability initiatives, as well as the development of biomaterials.
Inscripta
Produce Stem Cells with Greater Precision, Less Risk
Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are used in regenerative medicine, particularly during the development of cell-based therapies. One key challenge of producing hMSC-based therapies is achieving the safe, large-scale expansion of cells needed for therapeutic treatment. The current approach typically involves using fetal bovine serum and human plasma fibronectin for cell adhesion and growth. However, using these biological extracts often reduces experimental reproducibility and increases the risk of transmission of xenographic infectious agents. The myMATRIX MSC is a ready-to-use microenvironment that promotes adhesion, proliferation, and viability of hMSCs. It supports the long-term expansion of hMSCs over 10 passages and more than 25 population doublings in serum-free and xeno-free media conditions. This product helps process operators increase lot-to-lot consistency and allows them to more precisely define and control cell culture conditions.
denovoMATRIX GmbH
Operations and Maintenance
Portable Tablet Streamlines Management of Field Instruments
The Field Xpert SMT77 is a tablet personal computer that is designed for use by commissioning and maintenance personnel working in Class I Div. 1 hazardous areas. The tablet enables efficient plant asset management to help personnel document work progress more effectively. The Field Xpert’s library has more than 2,700 preinstalled device and communication drivers, allowing it to work with a diverse array of instruments from multiple vendors. It can connect to field instrumentation devices directly via a USB or Bluetooth wireless modem, or via a gateway, remote I/O, or multiplexer to a bus system. This device supports a variety of industry-standard interfaces, including HART, Profibus Foundation Fieldbus, Modbus, and others.
Endress + Hauser
Redesigned Packaging Supports Easy Wire and Cable Payout
This company has re-engineered the packaging used for its electronic wire and cable products (both copper and fiber-optic cable) to improve safety during shipping and use. The proprietary push-pull package design enables tangle-free, twist-free, and kink-free cable payout, with no need for a reel caddy. The new packaging also includes side-loaded panels that feature an interlocking plastic ring, which secures the plastic payout cone to the carton, while improving the overall strength of the box. All of the redesigned cartons are double corrugated and can hold up to 100 lb before experiencing any fatigue. The interlocking package design requires fewer glued seams, thereby minimizing potential points of failure during standard handling and use.
Remee Wire & Cable
Fluids and Solids Handling
Double-Offset Butterfly Valve Withstands High Pressures
This double-offset high-performance butterfly valve has a pressure rating up to 300 psi and is constructed of ductile iron with a 17-4 stainless steel shaft. It is suitable for use in industrial, municipal, and power applications. Its double-offset design reduces seat strain and is ideal for applications where the valve is normally left open.
Val-Matic Valve & Manufacturing Corp.
Multi-Shaft Mixers Produce Gels, Creams, and Pastes
VersaMix multi-shaft mixers, available in laboratory and production sizes up to 2,000 gal, feature a three-winged anchor and a high-speed disperser blade. Together, these design elements provide a robust combination of shear and bulk flow at various stages of the mixing cycle. The third agitator, a rotor/stator emulsifying head, is based on the company’s solid/liquid injection manifold (SLIM) technology for convenient subsurface raw material addition. The mixer incorporates a proprietary powder-induction feature that enables efficient charging of thickeners to ensure the repeatable production of high-quality gels, creams, and pastes. Operated from an 11-in. touchscreen, the mixer’s recipe system allows users to carry out precise batch production based on speed, time, temperature, and vacuum level.
Charles Ross & Son Co.
System Automates the Delivery of Garnet to Waterjet Cutters
The JET-FEED garnet delivery system automatically feeds granulated garnet directly from bulk bags to waterjet cutters. This reduces worker fatigue, the potential for injury, spillage, and dust, and product losses associated with manual dumping of bags that can weigh 40–100 lb (18–45 kg). The discharger uses the company’s Flow-Flexer bag activators that raise and lower the opposite bottom sides of the bag at timed intervals, loosening compacted garnet and promoting flow into the bag-discharge spout. The floor hopper charges a flexible screw conveyor, which can be routed vertically, horizontally, or at any angle, over short or long distances, to the waterjet location. The only moving part contacting the solids is a rotating screw that self-centers within the abrasion-resistant polymer tube, thereby preventing garnet from grinding between the screw and the tube wall. Maintenance is limited to periodic lubrication of the electric-driven motor. The conveyor can be started or stopped manually or automatically.
Flexicon Corp.
Instrumentation
Tail-Gas Analyzer Tracks Sulfur Without Plugging
The TLG-837 analyzer combines a high-performance spectrometer and a patented in situ mist-elimination probe. It has a faster response time, enables more accurate measurements, boasts a smaller footprint (weight and size), and requires less maintenance than other products on the market. These benefits give the analyzer a lower capital cost and lower cost of ownership over time. The spectrometer’s human-machine interface features simple, touchscreen control.
Applied Analytics
High-Intensity LED Display Ensures Clear Communication
The Model SB600 remote display provides high-visibility, full-color graphics for various scale systems, using double-row LEDs with large, 6-in.-high (15.25-cm) characters. Data from multiple scales, as well as total weight readouts, can be displayed simultaneously. The displays have a durable, IP65-rated stainless steel enclosure that is weatherproof, allowing the screens to be used in a wide variety of environments. The high-intensity LEDs ensure maximum visibility in all lighting conditions. Alphanumeric characters and various units can be displayed in large and small font sizes. The SB600 can plug-and-play with virtually any weight indicator, and it offers optional SnapStream wireless connectivity. The onboard light-intensity sensor automatically adjusts to ambient light, with 10 levels of brightness for conditions ranging from direct sunlight to total darkness.
Cardinal Scale
Flare Gas Flowmeter Benefits from Simplified Calibration Validation
The ST100 flare gas flowmeter features the VeriCal in situ calibration verification system, which eliminates the need to remove the existing flowmeter from service. This helps to streamline some of the costly, time-consuming steps associated with traditional flowmeter calibration. Typical calibration activities require shutting down the line, removing the meter from service, installing a spare meter, and sending the existing meter to a lab. The ST100 can handle fluid temperatures up to 850°F (454°C). It is available with either integral or remote (up to 1,000 ft) electronics and is approved for hazardous environments. The device can now be calibrated to measure virtually any process gas, including wet, mixed, and dirty gases.
Fluid Components International
Humidity Indicator Cards Protect Moisture-Sensitive Electronics
The Humitector Type 2 nonreversible humidity indicator cards are free of traditional moisture-reactive halogen compounds, such as cobalt dibromide, copper dichloride, and copper dibromide. They ensure the integrity of moisture-sensitive electronic components, such as printed circuit boards and surface-mount devices (SMDs), during transportation and storage. Electronic components are typically transported and stored in moisture-protective packaging known as dry packs, which are composed of a moisture-barrier bag, a desiccant, and a humidity indicator card. The card indicates the presence or absence of moisture via moisture-sensitive spots that change color when exposure has occurred. This Type 2 humidity indicator card remains blue after exposure to a moisture level of 60% relative humidity or greater, even if the packaging has dried.
Clariant
Materials and Chemicals
Efficient Adsorbent for Air Drying Saves Money
Sorbead Air adsorbents are hard, spherical beads of alumino-silicate gel that resist abrasion. This economical, efficient adsorbent is specifically tailored to dry air in compressed-air systems. The relatively large surface area and pore volume of this product increase moisture adsorption, giving it a higher capacity and lower desorption temperature during regeneration than other products. The adsorbent boasts a 7–10-yr life span, which helps to reduce dryer downtime and refill costs, and saves energy over the dryer’s lifetime.
BASF, Catalysts Div.
Advanced Fluoropolymer Resins Boast Enhanced Performance
Several fluoropolymer resins and compounds are available to improve the strength, heat tolerance, adhesion, and flexibility of materials in applications that require thermoplastic composites. For instance, the company’s modified polyether ether ketone (mPEEK) is enhanced with specialty fluoropolymers to improve impact and wear resistance, flexibility, and electrical properties. This polymer can be used to produce different geometries, such as sheets, rods, tubes, gears, liners, wire and cable insulations, and film. Fluon EA-2000 resin is a functionalized, high-temperature adhesive polymer that enables one-step processing with other polymers and metals, such as titanium and copper, without the need for surface treatment or a separate tie layer. Fluon EA-2000 resin is designed for continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP) applications that require high-temperature processing. In powdered form, the material can be used as the primary matrix resin for high-temperature CFRTP applications in which polyamide and epoxy are unsuitable, or as an additive to engineered thermoplastic polymer matrices, such as polyamide.
AGC Chemicals
Additive Fights Odors in Fabrics
Acteev is a textile resin that combines nylon-6,6 with a nonsilver, antimicrobial additive that prevents odors in fabric. It is functional, durable, and better for the environment than topical garment treatments, because it requires no water or solvents for application onto the finished garment. For apparel applications, this resin is easily dyeable and does not discolor or wash away after laundering.
Ascend Performance Materials
Formaldehyde-Free Binder Trims Energy Consumption During Textile Printing
Creating soft and vibrant prints on apparel and interior textiles can be challenging. Pigment printing is usually applied to the fabric with a binder that contains formaldehyde, needs relatively high temperatures for curing, and can make the final fabric feel harsh to the touch. Helizarin LTC New is a formaldehyde-free, low-temperature curing binder. It requires lower fixation temperatures and shorter fixation times than typical binders, which helps textile manufacturers improve productivity and reduce energy consumption. The binder can be applied to any type of fiber to produce printed textiles that are soft and durable.
Archroma
Novel Polymer Colorants Withstand Heat
KeyPlast Resist additives are high-performance colorants for plastics. They are suitable for use in polyamide resins, polyimides, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polysulfones, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), and other polymers that are subject to high-temperature processing in demanding industrial, electrical, and automotive applications. These colorants can be used effectively with unfilled, glass-filled, and flame-retardant grades of various polymer types. They offer improved weather resistance and perform well in the high-temperature and chemically reductive conditions typically associated with high-performance polymer processing.
Milliken & Co.
Environmental, Health, and Safety
Intelligent Calendar Streamlines Compliance
Encamp Calendar is the latest addition to the Encamp EHS software platform. This free, intelligent environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance calendar gives EHS managers an up-to-the-minute view of all compliance reporting requirements and deadlines. The calendar is synced to federal and state EHS databases, which ensures accuracy and helps companies track all of their mandatory reporting requirements to remain compliant.
Encamp
Cleaning System Eases Biofilm Removal
The OXYWAVE drain-cleaning system allows drains to be cleaned and biofilm to be removed from floors, walls, and drains without scrubbing. It is suitable for use in both open and closed drains, such as those found in food, beverage, dairy, pharmaceutical, and healthcare facilities. It helps to prevent cross-contamination in adjoining spaces.
Madison Chemical
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