SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
New Analytical Show Targets West Coast Markets Oriented to high-level management, ALEX '91 featured mini short courses, display of wares from more than 150 companies Another trade show aimed at the measurement science community has made its debut. Late last month, the Analytical Laboratory Equipment Exposition & Conference (ALEX '91) convened for three days at the San Jose, Calif., convention center. One might well ask whether another such show is really needed, what with the Pittsburgh Conference (Pittcon), the Eastern Analytical Symposium, and the expositions held in conjunction with the meetings of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the Federation of Analytical Chemistry & Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS), the American Chemical Society, and other organizations.
In fact, one did ask. In fact, more than one. "Many people have asked why we were producing ALEX," says Lance J. Jacobson, the show's director. It was pointed out that the meeting was in an out-of-the-way place, that there was no organizational tie-in, that the economy wasn't good, and so on. Regarding the first point, Jacobson notes that the show was intended to address the needs of western U.S. audiences, a major market that has been neglected by most of the older shows. However, ALEX is more than a trade show for the western U.S., Jacobson says. He sees the problem as one of "lost opportunities." Many labs don't function at their best. Many manufacturers are seeking new markets. The Pittsburgh Conference has become "too diffuse." What's needed is an interactive process, with a high-level management orientation. ALEX was designed to fill that need. And "the valley of an economic cycle" is "the right
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Jacobson (left): a problem of lost opportunities. LaFleur: analytical scientists should be members of team 24
November 18, 1991 C&EN
time to restructure one's thinking and prepare for the coming growth phase." Be all that as it may, ALEX did pretty well for a maiden effort. During the show's three days, almost 2200 registrants—not counting exhibitors—showed up for the conference and/or the exposition. On the exposition floor, 153 companies showed their wares in 255 booths occupying more than 25,000 sq ft of floor space. Conference sessions were generally well organized and presented, and well enough attended that traffic on the exhibit floor was sometimes sparse. The conference, perhaps reflecting its high-level management orientation, was more a collection of mini short courses than a scientific meeting in the fashion of Pittcon or FACSS. Presentations were grouped in four "tracks": laboratory management, regulations and procedures, technology assessment, and laboratory automation. The technology assessment track, for example, focused on "frontiers" in spectroscopy (molecular and atomic), separation science, sensors, and materials characterization. In addition, many of the exhibitors presented seminars. In the meeting's keynote address, Philip D. LaFleur, manager of Eastman Kodak's analytical technology division, made the point that industrial analytical laboratories are being judged, more and more, by commercial and financial criteria as well as by technical criteria. That's fair enough, he says. But in that environment, it's no longer acceptable to view those laboratories and their personnel merely as providers of service on call. Rather, analytical scientists should be members of the team at all stages in the development of a product. Measurement may be a fairly
HPLC goes modular It's highly unlikely that anyone would buy a high-performance liquid chromatography setup like the one pictured here. But the stack does emphasize the modular approach taken by Shimadzu in developing its new LC-10A series of HPLC equipment, introduced recently at ALEX '91 in San Jose, Calif. The company notes that all components are "small-footprint," 10.25 inches wide, and stackable, which saves bench space. Other features include fiber-optics connections for all major modules, backlit LCD alphanumeric displays, and a wide choice of components.
small cog in the large industrial machine, LaFleur concedes. But when it doesn't work right, the whole machine grinds to a stop. "We span the gamut," he says. With today's global competition, it's important, particularly in large manufacturing facilities, that measurement scientists in different parts of the organization communicate with one another "so that those things that happen in R&D translate rapidly and efficiently into manufacturing." That's not always the way it is. "Many of our customers prefer to
Exposition drew lots of attention
think of us as a black box," LaFleur says. "They give us samples and they want results. They don't particularly want to talk or to have discussions." That attitude can be changed, but changing it requires an "outreach effort" by the measurement community. Such a program has been under way at Kodak, LaFleur says, with encouraging results. "Now, more and more," he relates, "our customers are coming to us and saying, 'We're setting up this project team, and we want a measurement person on it from the beginning.' We find that very exciting." Near the end of the show, its organizers professed overall satisfaction w i t h t h i s year's event. "I smell a successful concept," said Sheldon G. Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Interface Group, which produced ALEX '91. Plans are u n d e r way for ALEX '92, scheduled for Nov. 4 to 6, 1992, in San Francisco's Moscone Center. Although competition in the field is keen, Interface has the assets needed for staying power. It also produced the highly successful COMDEX/Fall computer show, reportedly the largest trade show in the U.S. in 1989 and 1990. Ward Worthy
New separation method offers speed, resolution One of the technologies highlighted at the recent ALEX '91 meeting in San Jose, Calif., was a new separation method, Perfusion Chromatography. The method, which builds on the principles of liquid chromatography (LC), can significantly reduce the time required for high-resolution separations, particularly separations of proteins and other large biomolecules. Perfusion Chromatography was i n v e n t e d by Fred E. Regnier, a chemistry professor at Purdue University, and Noubar B. Afeyan, executive vice president of PerSeptive Biosystems, a company formed by the two inventors to commercialize the patented technique. According to the inventors, three factors affect the efficiency and speed of chromatographic separations of biomolecules: how fast the sample passes through the column, the time required for sample molecules to reach interior particle surfaces by diffusion, and the ability of the particle's coating to selectively bind the molecule of interest. Historically, there's been a choice between high speed and low resolution, or high resolution but long separation times. Traditional chromatographic media consist of porous particles around which the sample flows. The media that form the basis for Perfusion Chromatography have two types of pores that allow the sample to flow through the particles as well as around them. Large (6000 to 8000 Ä) "throughpores" are interconnected by smaller (800 to 1500 Ä) "diffusion pores." Solutes are convectively transported inside the particles by way of the throughpores, then move into the smaller pores by diffusion. The combination of pore sizes increases the effective surface area of the particles. Columns using the new media, trademarked Poros, can separate proteins in times ranging typically from 30 seconds to three minutes. In contrast, the inventors say, separations with conventional systems can take 30 minutes to several hours or more, for comparable resolution and biomolecule recovery. November 18, 1991 C&EN
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