Discovery is delighted to announce the release of the long-awaited alternative to the Bertin PreCellys from Omni International of Kennesaw, GA. The Omni Bead Ruptor is the newest generation of highly efficient  bead mill homogenizers.

This system is specifically designed for the grinding, lysing and homogenization of biological samples prior to any molecular extractions. Using sample tubes pre-filled with a variety of lysing beads, the Bead Ruptor 24 vigorously and uniformly shakes the tubes providing an efficient and high-yield homogenization usually in less than 40 seconds. Read more.

Discovery will be introducing an advanced real-time qPCR system in June 2010. The qTOWER has been developed by our supplier, Analytik Jena of Jena, Germany, and is based on a novel fiber optic system patented by the company. The unit combines real-time fluorescence detection with Analytik Jena's super-fast rapidPCR technology that can generate ramping rates of up to 12 °C/sec at the same time as considerably reducing sample volume down to as low as 5 µL per reaction. Read more about the qTOWER.

SQUIRT is the simple solution for flexible and reliable plate washing. This multi-format plate washer and coater handles any 96-, 384- and 1536-well SBS-formatted plate without manifold exchange or adjustment at speeds of up to three wash/dry cycles per 15 seconds. The SQUIRT microplate washer is designed for reliability either as a bench top device or as part of an integrated robotic system. Read more

The CellJet Cell Printer incorporates Digilab’s proprietary synQUAD liquid dispensing technology that offers both on-the-fly and drop-by-drop non-contact cell printing while maintaining the viability of even the most delicate cells. This extremely flexible technology offers users full control over critical dispense parameters such as height of dispense and dispensing speed which allows printing of both viscous solutions and fragile cells.

The CellJet prints into plates or onto slides using a valve-free fluid path which greatly reduces cell damage. The printer also includes full wash capability, an easy-to-clean and sterilize evaporation cover and an effective instrument design for hassle-free maintenance. Read more.

Raman spectroscopy offers many advantages over other spectroscopy and analytical techniques with the "fingerprint" nature of the data produced. Libraries of spectral data can be created, stored and easily retrieved to allow users to rapidly and accurately perform sample identification. Specific advantages include:

The SonoPlot^® GIX Microplotters are benchtop picoliter fluid dispensing systems for the life science, polymer electronics and nanotechnology markets with significant advantages over existing products in deposited feature size and type, regularity of volumes dispensed, and flexibility for the end-user.

The core of the Microplotters is a dispenser that uses controlled ultrasonics to deposit fluids in a non-contact manner. This patented technology can produce picoliter droplets that form features on a surface as small as 5 μm wide. When combined with automatic surface height calibration, coefficients of variability for deposited feature diameters as small as 2.5% can be achieved. A wide range of fluids can be used, including aqueous solutions and many organic-solvent-based mixtures. Fluids that other dispensers struggle with, such as saturated solutions for MALDI-TOF matrices, or fluids with viscosities up to 450 cP, can be deposited with ease. The ultrasonic pumping action is also an efficient cleaning mechanism for quickly depositing many solutions sequentially.

Read more on the GIX micro-plotters