REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS
by JAN KRUGERS Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, California
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SMALLEE SIZE of E u r o p e a n
-*- countries, historical reasons, limited research budgets, a n d differences in educational systems influence European requirements for research instruments. T h e limited m a r k e t size which can only be overcome b y a n expensive sales organization forces the companies into t h e development of instruments as versatile as possible. T h e y can then cover a reasonable number of potential customers. There were no competitive reasons —though this is less true now—for m a k i n g specialized instruments, since all companies are reluctant t o enter a given field once a company has established its name. Sharing an already small m a r k e t is not very profitable. On t h e customer's side, versatility is often a definite requirement. His budget is limited, and he h a s t o use t h e instrument for as m a n y a p plications as possible. This versatility requires people who are versatile in their capabilities. I n most European countries t h e educational system does n o t create specialists but instead people with knowledge in overlapping fields. A disadvantage of a universal instrument is t h a t working with it is more time consuming t h a n working 28 A
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
with a specialized instrument. This still is not altogether a serious objection, as labor is less expensive in Europe t h a n in t h e U.S.A. F o r example, t h e cost of an average r e cording spectrophotometer in E u rope is about t h e cost of a year's work b y a m a n with an academic degree (including overhead). I n the U. S. i t is about five months. Another reason for less specialized instruments is a tradition. Selling a " n e w " instrument t o a laboratory t h a t h a s established measuring techniques requires t h a t the instrument should perform in the "old" as well as t h e " n e w " way. T h e number of new laboratories in Europe, started from scratch, is much smaller t h a n in t h e U.S.A. This is another reason for t h e limited m a r k e t size. T R E N D S : T h e price of labor in Europe is increasing more rapidly t h a n in t h e U. S. F o r this reason handier-to-use instruments, requiring less maintenance a n d set-up time, will be asked for. This will result in better front panel designs and more sophisticated electronics to m a k e t h e t a s k of t h e operator easier. However, it seems doubtful t h a t this development will follow the American trend toward more
specialized instrumentation. T h e operator in Europe—because of his education—remains less specialized and will for this reason continue t o ask for more universal equipment. I t can hence be said t h a t European instruments will hide fewer knobs behind t h e front panel.
DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW INSTRUMENT M a k i n g decisions in a European company seems t o t a k e more time t h a n in an American company. B e cause people are less specialized, there are always persons around who understand t h e problem in discussion fairly well, often resulting in postponing t h e decision. T h e final result is an instrument t h a t is debugged before it leaves t h e factory. I t is also a compromise among divergent demands. Consequently instrument companies in Europe bring out fewer improved versions of their instruments. T h e y t r y t o m a k e a n i n strument t h a t can withstand time. B u t fewer model changes also mean t h a t every new model must constitute a big step forward i n technology. This is even more enhanced by t h e fact t h a t t h e e m phasis in European instrumentation
European laboratory instrumentation is developed for requirements other than those typical in the United States because a different kind of market is involved. This Report describes the differences and their influence on equipment design, and the "trend" is stated in an effort to predict future instrumental developments. For such well-known techniques as spectrophotometry, gas chromatography, and mass spectrometry, a European company and one of its instruments are chosen as an example of chemical instrumentation development.
is more on the inventiveness put in to the instrument rather than on the engineering (see, e.g., the D292, Spectrophotometry Section). It may sound as if this will pro mote the formation of small com panies. This is not the case, mainly because small companies in Europe receive no tax advantage; where companies, in the U. S. below $1/2 million gross pay less than 52%. TRENDS : It can be expected that this last point will not change. A concentration to larger companies will probably take place in the near future resulting in complete cover age of the whole chemical instru mentation field by a company. Be cause of this, and under influence from American competition, instru ments will get better overall engi neering, making them more reliable and probably also more shiny. With the strong European emphasis on inventiveness it will mean that one can expect European manufac turers to bring out reliable, versatile instruments, performing tasks con sidered quite difficult before their introduction. Generally speaking, European factories will not be too reluctant to give a new idea a try; first, because they do not aim at a
BROCHURE
PHILOSOPHY
EUROPE
UNITED STATES
The design philosophy makes the analyzer as flexible and versatile as other analysis systems
3 systems are not enough and 4 are too many, so 3.5 different sys tems are made
Instrumentation meets the require ments of a wide range of analysis problems
Analyze thirty samples for and Κ "' in two minutes
It takes less than a week to learn operation of the instrument When ordering, supply voltage and frequency must be stated
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The instrument is designed for easy opération and maintenance Models are installed in your laboratory and tested by actual performance of a quantitative analysis
H O W IT IS S A I D EUROPE
UNITED STATES The apparatus is the result of su perb engineering by . . . scientists Complete versatility without costly extras at one low price This revolutionary invention heralds a new era
VOL.
39, NO. 1, JANUARY 1967
29 A
REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS
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Figure 1. First constant tion monochromator from and Watts. Reproduction ture made with wooden used for 1906 catalog
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turnover of their invested money as fast as American companies; and, second, the geographical area they cover is smaller, so they can easily stay in contact with their customers. If some problem comes up, they are close by. COMPANIES As in the United States, there are European companies t h a t traditionally have always covered the chemical market. A few of the better known ones are: Hilger and W a t t s ( E n g l a n d ) , Jobin Y von (France), Metrohm (Switzerland), Becker (Holland), and Pye ( E n g l a n d ) . These companies typically have sales of a couple of million dollars, of which more t h a n 7 5 % is from the chemical market. Quite a few European electronic companies decided to go into the chemical instrumentation market, an approach which is also found in this country. Good examples are: Philips (Holland), Radiometer ( D e n m a r k ) , Siemens ( G e r m a n y ) , and AET ( E n g l a n d ) . However, up to now little of their total sales comes from the chemical instrumentation market. T h e number of new companies established after World W a r I I is small. These companies are, as can be expected, rather aggressive, can turn out an instrument much faster than an "older" company, and resemble American companies quite often in their organization and their products. " N e w " companies are, 30 A
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
devia Hilger of pic block
tfpectremeter
e.g., MAT (Germany), (Sweden), Laben ( I t a l y ) , technique (France) and (Germany).
LKB InterVirus
T R E N D S : The latter company is probably a good example of what is happening with a few sales companies representing foreign factories. These companies m a y acquire enough assets and knowledge t h a t they arc able to start their own production. However, it remains to be seen how successful they will be in bringing out really new products. But the main trend which will be seen in the near future is a big effort on the part of the larger companies to bring out new, reliable instruments. Most of the big companies mentioned are so large t h a t they have sufficient in-house applications to get feedback during development.
MARKETING In Europe, marketing is regarded less as a "science" than here. For this reason the products do not always get the attention they deserve. In support of this view is the fact t h a t the opinion in Europe is sometimes t h a t American products get too much propaganda. I n Europe fewer technical publication media are available than in the U. S. One relies in certain fields on American journals. I t m a y then even pav off for European companies to advertise in American journals to become known in Europe if the advertising
costs arc low enough. There are other reasons why the marketing of many European companies is different. The market size they cover is small, which makes it easier to develop a good personal customer relationship at a relatively low cost. This affects the technical literature of the company. Quite often, the available written technical information is rather limited, but in discussion with the company, one discovers t h a t there is quite a lot of knowledge available which is only transmitted in person. In marketing the emphasis is upon the inventiveness put into an instrument and not on the possibilities this offers, although this is rapidly changing. This works out quite well, as sales engineers in Europe have a broad education and are able to transmit highly technical information about their instruments. However, this system does not work out when they t r y to m a r k e t their products in the U.S.A., while the American way of marketing does work out in Europe. Only 4 % of the companies listed in the last Buyers' Guide of ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, the catalogue of a E u -
ropean chemical instrumentation exposition shows between 10 and 20% of the listed companies to be American. Importation, e.g., of nuclear equipment from the U. S. is estimated at 50% for Germany, 10% for England, and 10% foiFrance.
REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS
NUCLEAR-CHICAGO RESEARCH QUALITY RADIOCHEMICALS
LIQUID SCINTILLATION STANDARDS
Four sets, two individual scintillation standards, and two standardized solu tions for internal calibrating are available. SCINTILLATION STANDARDS SETS Consist of calibrated samples c o n t a i n i n g PPO a n d POPOP in t o l u e n e . Volume of each s t a n d a r d is 15 m l , sealed in a 2 0 m l lowactivity glass vial. Packaged in foamed-plastic holders which double as storage racks. Stated activities w i t h i n ± 3 % of t r u e values. Certifica t i o n of each s t a n d a r d supplied with each set. Unquenched c u and H 3 Set. Consists of u n q u e n c h e d s a m p l e s of c a r b o n - 1 4 a n d tri t i u m labelled toluene plus a toluene blank. Model 1 8 0 0 4 0 Set, c o m p l e t e $65.00 Quenched H ' a n d C14 Sets. Accurately assayed s t a n d a r d s . Each has d i f f e r e n t c o u n t i n g rate d u e to q u e n c h i n g . Model 1 8 0 0 5 0 T r i t i u m Set (5 s t a n d a r d s , 1 χ 10 6 d p m n o m i n a l each) $65.00 Model 1 8 0 0 6 0 Carbon-14 Set ( 6 s t a n d a r d s , s 2 χ 10 d p m nominal each) $ 75.00 Model 1 8 0 0 7 0 (both sets) $125.00
T R E N D S : I n the near future E u ropean companies will most likely change drastically in their market ing approach, but not so much in their research and development ef fort. Different signs indicate this trend. First, most companies have made their literature available in the local language, as well as Eng lish. Second, as shown in an inter esting series of article by Mercer {1) the problem of marketing out side one's own country is realized. And third, a few companies do as sociate with American companies, for example, TJnicam with Microtek (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Tracer, Austin, Texas), Camag with Gelman, and Hilger-Watts with Engis. The latter combination re sulted in a new company, HilgerEngis, which produces a monochro mator in the Czerny-Turner con figuration in the U. S. A E I (mass spectrometers) is represented by Picker, and General Instrument Company (Fourier spectrophoto meters) merged with Beckman. Shandon recently opened its own
office in this country. Large com panies like Siemens and Philips have for a long time had their own sales organizations here. Doubtless they will increase their efforts when they get more instruments available for the market under discussion. The final result will be a market ing approach similar to the one in the United States, and more feed back from sales into the research and development departments will occur. INSTRUMENTATION
A few different techniques will be discussed more elaborately, and for this the opinion of a few European companies was asked. The com panies were selected according to their product line and their country and do not necessarily reflect a good average. European companies are more closed about their future plans and sales figures than Ameri can companies, which makes it rather difficult to make a forecast on straightforward information.
Quenched S " Set. Six accurately assayed quenched standards. Model 138 0 0 8 0 Sulfur-35 Set ( 6 s t a n d a r d s , 4 χ 10 d p m nominal each) $80.00 INDIVIDUAL STANDARDS P32 and S " Scintillation Standards. Furnished in flame-sealed, 2 0 m l low-activity glass vials. Stated activities within ± 4 % of t r u e values. Individual certification supplied with each standard. Model 1 8 8 3 5 0 Phosphorus-32 (15 m l , 2 χ 10* d p m nominal) $40.00 Model 1 8 8 2 4 0 S u l f u r - 3 5 (15 m l , 4 χ 1 0 s d p m nominal) $30.00 Standardized Solutions of Toluene-C' 4 and Toluene-Η 3 . For internal calibration in liquid scintillation counting. Supplied in flame-sealed glass a m p o u l e s . Stated activities are within ± 2 % of t r u e values. Individual certification supplied with each s t a n d a r d . Model 1 8 8 2 7 0 Toluene-C 1 4 (5 m l , 3 χ 10* d p m nominal) $20.00 Model 1 8 8 2 8 0 Toluene-H 3 (5 m l , 5 χ 10 4 d p m nominal) $20.00
Detailed specifications are available on request, as are current schedules containing complete radiochemical listings and information. Please write, or call 312 827-4456 collect. NUC:G-4-271
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NUCLEAR-CHICAGO A DIVISION OF NUCLEAR - CHICAGO CORPORATION
351 Howard Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018 Circle No. 196 on Readers' Service Card 32 A
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ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Figure 2. Present grating monochromator; covering the range from 2000 to 10,000 A, with unilateral slit [and, in near future, exchangeable gratings] (Hilger and Watts)
Announcing the New EA System for ELECTROPHORESIS
REPORT FOR ANALYTICAL CHEMISTS Spectrophotometry COMPANIES: The main compa nies are: Hilger and Watts (Eng land), Unicam (England), Grubb Parsons and Co. (England), Optica (Italy), Jobin Yvon (France) and Zeiss (Germany).
INSTRUMENTS:
Although the in
struments may look quite different from the American ones, they per form the same task. One of the reasons for their different look is that many European spectropho tometers are made as building blocks. This offers flexibility but sacrifices ease of use. Optica had the first atomic absorption spectro photometer as a complete package on the European market. Hilger and Watts made an additional set up to one of its monochromators and Unicam developed a special package. These instruments still work with the common hollow cath ode lamp; one is required for e\rery element. Jobin Yvon produces "Electronic Spectrophotometers" which can be built up from two interchangeable monochromators, three different de tectors and three different light sources. The best of the two mono chromators covers the wavelength range 1850 to 20,000 A. For the far ultraviolet they produce a monochromator covering the range from 75 to 1000 A. They follow the trend in using simple spectropho tometers, covering the visible range with gratings instead of prisms, as in their "Labospac." This instru ment works with an optical wedge as a compensation element. One of their latest instruments is the Hypeac developed together with the French Atomic Energy Commission for isotopic uranium analysis. The instrument has a resolution of 0.001 A and covers the range of 2500 to 25,000 A. It consists of a grating monochromator followed by a Fabry-Perot interferometer. The distance between the plates of the interferometer is not changed but instead the air pressure is changed. This corresponds to a change in the optical distance. To do this, the in terferometer is in an airtight cham ber which is pumped to a vacuum. Through a controlled leak, air is ad mitted to make a scan. Hilger and Watts is a company with a history going back to 1901.
Figure 1 shows one of their earliest monochromators. This kind of de viation monochromator is still sold in improved versions, which, how ever, do not look very different from the original version. In 1910 the company introduced an ultra violet monochromator and in 1913 they introduced an infrared mono chromator. It was only after World War II that grating mono chromators were introduced. These ultimately developed into inex pensive monochromators. The D292, shown in Figure 2, covers the range of 2000 to 10,000 A and uses a grating with 14600 lines/inch. Al though the slits are of the unilateral type, the wavelength does not change when they are widened. The reason is that entrance and exit slits are coupled together and open in opposite directions. The price paid for this simplicity is that the emer gent beam moves somewhat as the slits are changed. Another advan tage of this monochromator is the small amount of stray light realized by splitting the mirror used in the Ebert configuration into two halves, so that the exit slit cannot see the collimator mirrors, nor the entrance slit see the focusing mir ror. The main change in the in strument in the future will likely be greater flexibility by making the grating change a user adjustment. Zeiss is a company with a good name in the optical field. The situ ation is a little confusing, as there are two Zeiss Companies. VEB Carl Zeiss Jena is in East Germany on the same location where the company was founded 120 years ago. In a recent press release they stress the point that the number of employees rose 70% in 17 years and much is made of the social benefits they receive. They have a rather ambitious development program, including the development of auto mated emission spectrographs, ESR, NMR, raman spectrophotometers and spectropolarimeters. Carl Zeiss Oberkochen is in West Germany and was built up after World War II by the technical staff of the old Zeiss factory who fled to the American zone. They market, among other equipment, micro scopes and a highly flexible spectro photometer with a quartz prism monochromator.
EA-4 Power Control Supply Designed e s p e c i a l l y f o r e l e c t r o p h o resis. Continuously variable voltage Ο to 500 V. Stable: Supplies constant volt age. (Ripple less than ± 0 . 1 % . Unit regulates to ± 0.1%.) Also can supply constant current over entire range. No v a r i a n c e in mA w i t h c h a n g e in l o a d ± 90%. Double scale meter shows V and mA. Exclusive built-in t i m e r w i t h automatic shut-off. Four chambers — s i m u l t a n e o u s o p e r a t i o n (7 tests per c h a m b e r ) . Constant c u r r e n t c o n t r o l over entire electrophoretic range.
£4-7 Electrophoresis Chamber High impact polystyrene; water cooling jacket. Domed see-through lid. Safety interlock. Platinum electrodes run en tire chamber length. Polarity reversing s w i t c h . S i m p l e , a c c u r a t e m e t h o d of attaching sample strip with flexible holders in i n t e g r a l p a r t of c h a m b e r unit. This system offers features and advan tages never before f o u n d in electro phoresis equipment. The design is su perb—and the system was precision built by scientists expressly for scien tists. Our free brochure will give you a f u l l d e s c r i p t i o n c o m p l e t e w i t h addi tional pictures.
__J^EEBROCHURE_ [" MAIL COUPON TODAY! ~j I | I
Carl Schleicher & Schuell Co. Keene, New Hampshire—Dept. AC-671 Please send free brochure on new
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S&S/EA System for Electrophoresis
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Circle No. 159 on Readers' Service Card VOL. 39, NO. 1 , JANUARY 1 967 · 3 3 A
REPORT
R E FR A C T O M ETR Y W I T H TOP ACCURACY R E A D I N G S IN S E C O N D S
10 SECONDS
LOAD!
2 SECONDS
LIGHT!
•:fcMrf.]Jl.fcl
Kfl A TOTAL OF 20 SECONDS , at a fraction of a cent per test
Test any product within an extended range of N D ^ W " " r,W 1-30 to N D 1.71 easily, speedily, accurately with 4)p& the Abbe 3-L Refractometer. Loading is quick ... • ^{g horizontal prisms are right-up-front and unob. Ζ---' structed . . . permit easy wipe-off to prevent contamination. Lighting is quick . . a conveniently placed push button illuminates the scales. Looking is quick . . and sure. Read refractive index instantly to .0005 fwith reliable estimates to .0001). Dissolved solids can be read to . 2 % (estimates to . 1 % ) . Solids scale reads 0% to 8 5 % . Either transmitted or reflected illumina tion can be used. You can make a complete test in just 20 seconds! Instrument costs are less than 29
