PittCon 2004: Show highlights concert of instruments

More than 20,000 representatives from industry, academia, and government worldwide gathered in Chicago last week to participate in PittCon 2004.

By Control Engineering Staff March 18, 2004

More than 20,000 representatives from industry, academia, and government worldwide gathered in Chicago last week to participate in PittCon 2004. “The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy” included the presentation of more than 2,000 technical papers and the wares of nearly 1,200 exhibitors in the field of laboratory instrumentation, supplies, and services. The show and conference ran from March 7-12 at McCormick Place.

Manufacturers and suppliers offered a significant number of new products and services. Highlights of a few noteworthy offerings are included here.

Palisade Corp ., a provider of reference libraries for mass spectrometry, introduced Palisade Complete 600 K comprehensive library of mass spectral data. Containing more than 600,000 measured and identified mass spectra, the library is designed to assist in computer-identification of unknown compounds by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The wide-coverage reference source integrates with a user’s existing GC/MS data system to identify and characterize drugs/metabolites, natural products, trace contaminants, forensic, toxicological, and other sample types.

Package nearly quadruples the number of reference spectra in the popular NIST 2002 collection. It includes all spectra in NIST 2002 and Wiley Registry collections plus more than 150,000 new spectra. Software installs on almost any MS system or standalone computer to extend the problem-solving capabilities of the mass spectrometer. Users can keep current with annual additions and updates through a subscription plan. An estimated 25,000 to 50,000 new spectra are expected to be added each year. Subscribers will also have access to Palisade’s online HelpDesk and KnowledgeBase for help using the system.

APS-2000 Series autopurification systems were among numerous new offerings from Dionex Corp.

Among a plethora of new products presented by Dionex Corp . are its APS-2000 Series autopurification systems for highly automated, efficiency and specific compound purification. The systems provide compound isolation and high-throughput purification for the pharmaceutical, chemical, and life science industries. They are suitable for purification of crude synthesis products, reference materials and compounds from natural product extracts. When used with the company’s Chromeleon Purification Suite software, APS-2000 systems provide greater sample throughput, enhanced safety and reliability, and a higher level of automation.

An assortment of new offerings from the Horiba Group includes the Navi line of multi-parameter desktop and field water quality meters from Horiba Instruments Inc. and a series of detectors for NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy from Jobin Yvon Inc.

Navi line of multi-parameter desktop and field water quality meters from Horiba Instruments measure up to 4 parameters (among pH, ORP, ION, conductivity, temperature, resistivity, salt) simultaneously. Line features 5 x 7-in. color LCD and personal navigation functions to guide the operator through routine measurements, troubleshooting and calibration procedures. It consists of 5 series, totaling 15 models for a variety of applications. Security function features for compliance with U.S. FDA 21 CFR Part 11 electronic record, audit trail and electronic signatures are included in F-55 model for pharmaceutical research and production applications.

Liquid nitrogen cooled 1,024 x 1 pixel InGaAs (Indium-Gallium-Arsenide) array from Jobin Yvon Inc. features high sensitivity, dynamic range.

Liquid nitrogen cooled 1,024 x 1 pixel InGaAs (Indium-Gallium-Arsenide) array from Jobin Yvon Inc . features high sensitivity, dynamic range, signal-to-noise performance and stability for NIR applications in the 0.7 to 1.7

Swagelok Co. now offers three lines of pressure regulators.

In other PittCon product news, Swagelok Co . now offers three new lines of pressure regulators: pressure-reducing, back-pressure, and vaporizing. Devices fit a variety of applications, including sample conditioning systems, gas and liquid analysis systems, calibration and carrier gas cylinders and delivery systems, instrument air, and specialty gas pressure control.

IntraFlow modular substrate fittings, from Parker Hannifin Corp. Instrumentation Products Div ., are designed for analytical, laboratory and complex general-purpose instrumentation flow control systems. Specifically for the rigorous demands of process analytic sample systems, the fittings are ISA/ANSI SP76.00.02 compliant and provide maximum flexibility with minimal space requirements. All flow paths, regardless of direction, are maintained on a single plane within the system, requiring no lower level manifolds.

—Jeanine Katzel, senior editor, Control Engineering, jkatzel@reedbusiness.com