LABORATORY
OF THE MONTH
Technicon's N e w Educational a n d Research Laboratories Feature Wet-Chemical Analysis
Technicon's educational laboratory for training new AutoAnalyzer owners utilizes such novel equipment as movable
S Company EVERAL
YEARS
AGO
the
Technicoii
(Chauncey, Ν . Υ.) intro duced practical instruments for accu rate, reliable, automatic wet-chemical analysis. Known as "AutoAnalyzer" systems, this pioneering equipment pro vides completely automated analytical techniques for clinical, quality-control, and research laboratories, as well a s automated " o n stream" monitors for industrial process control. New laboratories a t Technicon now provide welcome additional floor space for the company's fast-growing activi ties. These facilities are expanding re search and development in new instru ment systems a n d new methods for existing systems. T h e y also offer class room and laboratory space for a unique educational program. E v e r y week the company presents a formal week-long training program for approximately 40 new owners of its AutoAnalyzer equipment. T h e courses consist of graduate-level lectures and intensive bench work, with t h e stu dents training on their own m a chines. The company insists on this training course for new customers, since it allows t h e m t o begin using their equipment sooner and reduces expen sive down-time. Technicon absorbs the cost of this course, including room and
benches and free-hanging hoods (for exhaust from flame photometer sensors)
board for the week. Five staff instruc tors spend full time teaching these classes. After registering on a M o n d a y morning, t h e student gets introduced to automated systems in a three-hour lecture session. Later the same day in the lab, he begins working with his own instrument. H e sets u p his equipment and spends t h e balance of t h e week learning analytical methods for his par ticular application. T h e student works on a series of problems designed t o stretch his imagination a n d test his mastery of the system. T h e instructors circulate around the laboratory, giving help where needed. This assistance al ways emphasizes principles a n d en courages the student to solve his own problems. To provide a complete background, the course discusses every aspect of the automated analytical system. Con siderable classroom time is devoted t o the mechanical and electrical features of the various components. Engineering instruction permits the user t o under stand the mechanics of his instrument. I n the final phase of training, to test whether a student has learned to use his instrument efficiently, t h e instructors deliberately t a m p e r with it. T h e neces sary corrective adjustments require u n
derstanding and imagination. Instead of merely learning to operate and main tain his instrument, the student is en couraged to become a creative contribu tor to the field of automated chemical analysis. So far, graduates of t h e course have adapted more t h a n 150 procedures to suit automated tech niques. And every year the firm brings its foreign sales engineers from Europe, along with sales representatives and se lected users from all over the world, for refresher courses and further training. Technicon's new laboratory complex incorporates a number of novel features for greater convenience and efficiency. The educational laboratory utilizes spe cially designed, portable, individual lab benches t h a t roll on wheels. This per mits t h e l a b layout t o b e changed around for greatest convenience a n d efficiency, depending upon the number of students present at any one time and upon their specific requirements in space and equipment. Scattered islands contain sinks and utility outlets. T h e benches fit together snugly in modular arrangements around these islands. T h e portable benches lend a valuable flexibility to the educational program. While one class is in progress, new sets of equipment are made ready outside the l a b for t h e following class a n d VOL. 36, NO. 3, MARCH 1964
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wheeled into place b y M o n d a y morning. The "old" instruments then go to the shipping room for crating and prompt shipment. New analytical procedures evolved at Chauncey lead to continuing development of additional equipment to extend t h e versatility of the AutoAnalyzer concept. Technicon recently introduced an unusual mechanical method for solid sampling. T h e sampling device processes solid, granular, or tabletted m a t e rial automatically, then passes the dissolved sample along into the analytical stream. Frequently this sampler feeds insoluble materials into another unit, a continuous digestor which makes automatic Kjeldahl determinations practical. Still another new component
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—an automatic, continuous décantation unit—provides accurate quantitative results from procedures utilizing hemagglutination techniques. Technicon's very latest development takes the form of a multi-analysis system capable of performing eight different analyses simultaneously from a single 2-ml. liquid sample. Prototype equipment—after m o n t h s of completely successful continuous operation—confirms the exceptional accuracy, speed, and operational advantages of the basic automated system. At Chauncey, Technicon integrates its own engineering and manufacturing facilities with its research activities, in a broad development concept. This close liaison assures the best equipment
design for the new techniques generated, adapted, or improved b y the company and its customers. T h e presence of all this specialized equipment in one place draws t o p academic, clinical, and industrial analysts to these laboratories. I n fact, Technicon offers industry people an open invitation to work on their own individual problems. I n a broad cooperative program, the company furnishes instrumentation, laboratory facilities, and technical background. By providing bench room and any special AutoAnalyzer set-up t h a t is required, the comp a n y helps guests develop new equipment and procedures to satisfy their unusual requirements in wet-chemical analysis or process control.
Amino acid AutoAnalyzer separates and analyzes the amino acids normally found in protein hydrolyzates (or peptides) in less than 5 hours. Using this rack of 5 chromatographic columns, 5 different samples can be set up to run sequentially with no further handling or supervision. Results are plotted on recorder behind columns
Multi-8 AutoAnalyzer provides eight simultaneous analyses from a single sample. Prototypes of this highly automated system, now in continuous use in the field, utilize as many as eight different analytical procedures and provide printed readout on a single chart
Simultaneous ultramicro CHN analyzer automatically analyzes organic unknowns in 12 minutes by combustion techniques. Combustion products are C0 2 , H 2 0, and N 2 . After the combustion products pass through an unheated silica gel column to adsorb water, they flow into the first thermal conductivity cell of a catharometer. This cell gives content of N 2 + C0 2 . The N 2 -C0 2 mixture then goes through an absorber to remove C0 2 . Next, a second cell determines content of N 2 alone. Subtraction gives C0 2 level. After the N 2 analysis is completed, the silica gel column is automatically heated to 2 0 0 ° C. This drives off the previously trapped water. Finally, the first cell measures H 2 0 level
A new automated décantation principle, tied into hemolysis and colorimetric assay, introduces speed, reproducibility, and quantitation to hemagglutination techniques. Aqueous hemolysis works for cell concentration from 5 0 % down to 2 % ; alcoholic benzidine solutions hemolyze cell levels down to 0.001 %
