Affymetrix has announced the full commercial launch of its Affymetrix GeneChip Command Console (AGCC) software, one part of a suite of programs that enables researchers to extract and analyse microarray data faster than ever before.

The complete software suite, which also includes Command Console, Expression Console and Genotyping Console is easily integrated with more than 30 leading GeneChip-compatible applications from Affymetrix' third-party software partners.

"The Affymetrix GeneChip product line provides our research customers with a spectrum of molecular and genetic analysis tools to answer pressing questions in biomedical and biological sciences," said Steve Lincoln, vice president of informatics at Affymetrix.

"Our new software platform further enables these customers to follow emerging research paradigms and conveniently apply these tools in both large-scale and mainstream scientific programs."

Agilent has introduced two new accurate-mass liquid chromatography/mass spectrometers (LC/MS), the 6220 accurate-mass time-of-flight (TOF) instrument and the 6520 accurate-mass quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) instrument.

The systems have 32Gbit per second high speed data acquisition that dramatically improves mass resolution of 20,000.

In addition, they include a new analogue to digital (ADC) TOF electronics that improves the dynamic range of the instrument tenfold to achieve a range that approaches nearly five orders of magnitude.

"We set out to deliver exceptional analytical performance for MS and MS/MS analyses for experiments demanding the highest accurate-mass measurements, and these two instruments have achieved this," said Ken Miller, marketing director of Agilent's LC/MS Division.

"These improvements will enable scientists in metabolomics, proteomics and complex qualitative analyses to find and identify more lower-abundance compounds faster than ever. All of this performance is achieved without significantly compromising rapid analysis time for higher-quality data."

Agilent has also integrated its 7500 Series ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer) with its OpenLAB enterprise content management (ECM) system to make the technique more widely accessible in regulated pharmaceutical QA/QC laboratories.

The web-based system lets users capture, manage, share, archive and retrieve all types of electronic files enabling audit tracking and revision control to enable the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) 21 CFR Part 11 compliance requirements to be met easily.

"The Agilent ICP-MS system is very good at quickly detecting trace levels of inorganic impurities in drugs and can measure a full suite of elements in a single run," said Katja Kornetzky, Agilent solution manager, Pharma QA/QC.

"This new solution lets lab managers, bench chemists/operators and IT professionals exchange data across the room or around the world in a secure environment without impeding workflows."

AnaSpec has released a new generation of fluorescent dyes for biomarker labelling, the HiLytePlus series, that can be excited at 555, 647 and 750nm.

The dyes are available individually or as part of an AnaTag labelling kit containing labelled secondary antibodies and strepravidin.

"Our original HiLyte Fluor series was already returning superior performance results in comparison to Cy and similar dyes. With the introduction of our HiLytePlus series, we are looking to distance ourselves even further in terms of performance," said Dr Rich Meyer, AnaSpec's R&D manager.

"By maintaining a price point that is significantly more cost effective than our major competitors, we believe that our HiLytePlus series will prove to be extremely competitive in the high performance biomarker labelling market."

Applied Biosystems has introduced a new master mix reagent designed to halve the time needed to conduct real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) studies that use SYBR green reagents.

The Fast SYBR Green Master Mix uses a special formulation that includes a proprietary enzyme that enables faster PCR experiments while minimising non-specific product formation and increasing the efficiency of target amplification to increase the accuracy of the PCR data.

"Fast SYBR Green Master Mix expands our portfolio of consumables for real-time PCR and provides our customers with a choice of chemistries that are tailored to their specific applications," said Peter Dansky, president for Applied Biosystems' molecular and cell biology consumables division.

"Integrating these specialized master mixes with our industry leading real-time PCR instrument systems enables our customers to perform fast real-time PCR experiments that accelerate their research in gene expression, ChIP analysis, and microarray validation among others."

Axiom Analytical has introduced a new surface mounted spectroscopic flow cell, the FFV-310Ne, that mates with the industry standard NeSSI (new sampling/sensor initiative).

The cells are designed to be interfaced to a remote near-infrared (NIR) or UV/visible spectrometer by fibre optic cables.

They are available in a range of fixed or variable path lengths and with optics optimised for NIR, UV or visible spectral ranges.

Bio-Rad has introduced its MRSASelect test to the US market following FDA approval in September. The test enables the rapid screening of samples for the presence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in 24 hours.

"The rapid detection time of MRSASelect provides hospitals with the ability to quickly implement appropriate infection control," said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad's CEO.

"This is key to minimizing the spread of this pathogen."

KD Scientific has launched a new emulsifier, the KDS 330, which is designed to prepare suspension or viscous adjunct/antigen fluid mixtures.

The simple to use system contains a pump that eliminates the fatigue and time required to manually prepare emulsions by forcing fluids back and forth through a micro-emulsifying needle.

Millipore has launched its new Milli-Q integral water purification system to produce pressurised pure and ultra pure water for users. The system can produce up to 300l of ultra pure water per day from a tap water source.

Thanks to the system's Elix technology and ion-exchange resin that are constantly regenerated by a weak electric current users benefit from low maintenance needs and costs.

Separate points-of-delivery (PODs), dedicated either to ultrapure or pure water, ensure convenient delivery at a flow rate that is adjustable from drop-by-drop to 2 l per min. The PODs can be adapted with a choice of final polishers to remove specific contaminants that include pyrogens, nucleases, bacteria, particulates and organics

Oxoid, a part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, has announced that its Remel quality control micro-organisms (Culti-Loops and Quanti-Cult) have been certified by the ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) and added to its Licensed Derivative Program list.

"Standards and quality are important considerations for QC and the addition of the Culti-Loops and Quanti-Cult products to the ATCC Licensed Derivative Program further strengthens the benefits that these market leading brands offer to microbiologists around the world," said Julie Elston, QC organisms product manager at Oxoid.