EQUIPMENT
Bench Top Analyzer Introduced Automatic analyzer performs up to 10 different analytical methods, prints out or indicates results A bench top model of its Robot Chem ist has been introduced by Research Specialties Co., Richmond, Calif. The company demonstrated the new unit at the Atlantic City meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The unit, 20 in. X 20 in., can ana lyze whole blood, serum, tissue ex tracts, and other solutions. It per forms sample measurement, adds re agents, adds heat, and transfers the sample to a spectrophotometer. It then either prints out or indicates results. The bench top unit, a production
model, is similar to custom-assembled floor models made by Research Spe cialties for a number of years. By mechanizing standard operations of wet chemistry, existing manual meth ods can be set up with no change in procedure, the firm says. While the bench top model performs in much the same way as the earlier models, it differs in several important ways. For one thing, it is a produc tion line model, thus is less expensive than former custom models. Teflon and polyethylene reagent dispensers come in three sizes: 250 lambda, 1.000 ml., and 4.000 ml. A dial setting de
livers volume less than these capaci ties. The dispensers operate from airdriven pumps rather than mechani cally driven pumps. Accuracy runs within 0.5% maximum, according to tests run after 1 million cycles, Re search Specialties says. Speed is an other bonus; the Robot Chemist can produce up to 150 analyses per hour. The Robot Chemist comes in two models, called single and multiple module units. The single unit con tains a turntable which rotates at an adjustable speed. An inner and outer concentric row of holes holds test tubes. The unmeasured sample is placed manually in the inside row. When the turntable moves to the proper position, a pipetter-diluter probe drops into the tube, draws a sample, moves to an outside tube, and deposits it along with reagent or a wash water flush. More reagent can be added by dispensers on the next moves. After time for color develop ment, still another probe transfers so lution to a spectrophotometer where optical density or per cent transmittance is measured. Positioning of the transfer probe de termines time before adding the final reagent and transferring the sample for optical measurement. Heat, if necessary, can be supplied during this interval. After sample transfer, other probes drain, flush, and air-dry the outer test tubes. The multiple module system uses a conveyor system to transfer parallel rows of tubes containing samples. Samples are delivered to both rows on the turntable. With the multiple module, up to 10 different analytical methods can be carried out by adding more turntables. A single module can carry out two. Ε1
BRIEFS Regenerator for ion exchange resins
Calibration Lab Uses Three Flow Loops A flow calibration laboratory for calibrating pneumatic and electronic flow instru ments has just been put into operation by Taylor Instrument Co., Rochester, N.Y. Designed to give ultimate accuracies of about 0 . 2 % of the flow rate being meas ured, the lab will also be used for research in flow-measuring problems. Equip ment is housed in a new building 36 ft. X 100 ft. with a 70-ft. tower at one end for a head tank. Major components consist of three flow loops (handling all sizes of meters up through 12 in.), inverted " U " dividers with pneumatic drives, weigh tanks and scales, the weir system of the head tank, turning vanes in the three cas caded elbows of the loops, internal flow diversion plates of the diverter, and the nozzle and spear of a spear valve. Six pumps provide flows up to 8500 gal. per min. The system contains 24,000 gal. of water, Taylor says. 56
C&EN
APRIL
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has been developed by Barnstead Still and Sterilizer Co., Boston, Mass. The unit is designed primarily to regener ate disposable demineralizer car tridges. It will regenerate resins from three cartridges simultaneously. Ε2
All-weather environmental chamber is
offered by Webber Mfg. Co., Inc., In dianapolis, Ind. Designated Model WF-1280-100+200X, it has a ca pacity of 1280 cu. ft. and provides temperatures from - 1 0 0 ° to 200° F.,
with an accuracy of ± 3 ° F. The unit is designed primarily for conditioning missile propellants. Ε3 Multichannel strip chart recorder is offered by Larson Instrument Co., Orangeburg, N.Y. Model ROS can make 30 simultaneous permanent rec ords of time, sequence, and duration of either on or off signals on one rectilinear chart. The inkless recorder uses electro-sensitive writing. Ac cording to the company, accuracies of better than 2 millisec. at speed incre ments ranging from 1/2 in. per hr. to 10 in. per sec. can be recorded. Ε4
HiiRii^wlpis Proph/^/es and tyhét/ons are pd^h'q/^g/a^h/ca//y on the^nqw,.expanded P(pr6nie Grjd
Ion gage and control unit is being in troduced by Vacuum Products Divi sion of Varian Associates, Palo Alto, Calif. According to Varian, the gage has sensitivity 21/2 times greater and x-ray limit 10 times lower than other gages commercially available. With the control unit, pressures between 10"4 and 10 - 9 mm. Hg can be read directly from a logarithmic scale, and pressures between 10 - 4 and 2 X 10 - 1 1 mm. Hg can be read from linear scales. Ε5
Electron beam gun with evaporationrate detector and controller is com mercially available from Alloyd Elec tronics Corp., Cambridge, Mass. Ac cording to the company, Model CR-1 makes it possible to determine the ef fect evaporation rate has on deposited materials used in thin-film studies. Complete control over film thickness can be achieved, the company adds. E6 An automatic, all-purpose correlator has been developed by Transition Systems, Inc., Woodside, N.Y. Named Unicor, the company expects it to make contributions to medical re search, space navigation, oil explora tion, seismic studies, servomechanism analysis, and military electronics. Ac cording to the company, the instru ment eliminates the need for complex and expensive computer systems. It plots the auto- or cross-correlation function, as well as other mathemat ical functions, on a 14- by 17-in. x-y plotter. The unit is mounted on wheels, and is easily portable. Uni cor sells for $10,000. It can be leased for a 3-year period with a purchase option. Ε7
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i g On the new Pluronic Grid; property trends for the entire Pluronic series are plotted to direct the formulator to the area on the Grid that shbws jïhe most promise for his application. This helps a W d j t e d i o u s experimentation with dissimilar molecules
