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Welcome to Specac's Winter 2011/2 News Bulletin. We are the World’s leading spectroscopic accessory manufacturer, producing the industry’s widest range of Lab IR sampling accessories for solids, liquids & gases.
Our regular bulletin is here to keep you up to date with all the latest news on our new developments. You’ll also get an in-depth look at some of the many products we offer, as well as advanced notification of the trade shows we’ll be attending.
QuickLinks : Click on any link below to take you to the story you're interested in...
New Product Launch • New: Mini-Pellet Press • New: Mini-Film Maker • New member of the Specac Team • Product Profile • Application Notes • Specac on the road • Specac Product Catalogue • Technical Problems? •
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New Product Launch
• The Mini-Pellet Press
 Specac’s New Mini-Pellet Press is a 2 Ton manual hydraulic press, which is designed to produce 7mm pellets for transmission spectroscopy. Small and easy to use, this press is a space saving, cost effective way of creating pellets for analysis without taking up a lot of room in the lab.
Built to our usual high production standards it's robust enough to withstand the all the rigors of industrial and laboratory production.
The Mini-Pellet Press is also available as part of our Basic Solid Pack which includes everything required to produce high quality 7mm KBr pellets from your sample.
For more information and a video demonstration of the Mini-Press in action please visit www.specac.com
Mini-Pellet Press (GS03940)
Basic Solid Pack (GS01150)
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• The Mini-Film Maker
 Based on the same design as the Mini-Pellet Press, Specac’s new Mini-Film Maker is designed to produce high quality 15mm thin films. This dedicated film maker has integrated heated platens with a digital temperature controller and is suitable for any material that has a melting point between ambient and 250ºC. The use of the provided spacing rings allows the production of constant and reproducible thickness films over the range 50 to 500 microns.
The Mini-Film Maker Kit comes complete with everything need to produce thin films. For more information and a video demonstration of the Mini-Film Maker in action please visit our website.
Mini-Film Maker Kit (GS03970)
These two new products are part of our continuing commitment to bring at least 3 new products to market each year. Check our website regularly for updates on our new products.
If you would like a demonstration of either new product please contact us at reach@specac.co.uk
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New member of the Specac Team
• Harish Sinha
 We are delighted to welcome Harish Sinha as our new Global Sales Manager. Harish’s role will be to lead the sales team of one of the world’s leading suppliers of spectroscopic accessories to the chemical, food, forensic, life science and Pharma, research and quality control application industries.
Harish joins Specac after spending his career in sales and marketing roles at a range of scientific industries and businesses including Smiths Detection, Pera, Teraview and Mettler Toledo and he holds a Masters Degree in Advanced Chemical Engineering from Imperial College at The University of London.
More information can be found on the full press release here.
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Product Profile
• The Omni-Cell™ System
 The Omni-Cell™ is a Universal Transmission Cell for the analysis of liquids and mulls in FTIR Dispersive Spectroscopy.
The 3 x 2 mount body for the cell means that the Omni-Cell™ is compatible with all FTIR Spectrometers, with 3 x 2 mount holders.
The Omni-Cell’s modular structure means that it can be quickly and easily re-configured to suit each individual experiment, by changing the windows to best suit your sample and the spacers to adjust the pathlength.
Generally our Omni-Cell™ is operated in 3 configurations:
• Demountable Cell - This is a general-purpose cell for all liquids. It has the advantage of being easy to dismantle for cleaning, and for changing the windows and spacers.
• Sealed Cell - The window pair and spacer are amalgamated as an assembly. The advantages of this cell are a constant pathlength for quantitative analysis and suitability for use with volatile liquids
• Mull Cell - This does not use the standard filling ports. The sample is placed directly onto one of the circular windows and the other window is placed on top. The advantage is that very viscous liquids, gels and pastes can be easily analyzed.
Ordering an Omni-Cell™ is easy just order the universal body (GS01800), and buy the windows and spacers to suit your application.
For more information and to see the full range of windows and spacers please click here. If you are unsure what is the best window material for your sample please see our guide here.
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Application Notes
• FTIR Measurements of Particles in Suspension using the Gateway™ ATR
Introduction
While there are many reports on spectroscopic studies on molecules of biological significance, there are far fewer examples of spectra obtained from whole organisms. One reason for this discrepancy is that most biological molecules have water as an integral part of their structure and traditionally water has been seen as an undesirable solvent for infrared spectroscopy. To some extent this is still true and there are many reasons for not choosing to work with aqueous systems. However, for areas such as studies on biological samples or on surfactant molecules it is absolutely necessary to be able to measure spectra in the presence of water and thus there is a need for suitable sampling systems.
The main problem with water is that the absorbencies have very high extinction coefficients. However, on the positive side there are only two main absorptions leaving significant windows for the direct observations of absorptions from the sample. With correct attention to factors such as the temperature of the sample it is possible to perform digital subtractions of spectra of the sample and water and to obtain information about the peaks that occur in the same region as the water absorptions.
The use of sampling systems employing the principle of attenuated total reflectance (ATR), (also known as internal reflectance), is especially helpful in studying aqueous systems since the problem of high absorption by the water in minimised by the short path length characteristic of such devices.
Spectroscopic measurements using such attachments rely on efficient coupling between the evanescent wave of the infrared beam and the sample. Good coupling can be promoted by applying slight pressure to a solid sample or in the case of an aqueous solution by complete immersion of the ATR crystal in the sample. Difficulties arise however, when the spectroscopist wishes to examine particulate matter is suspension. These materials tend to sediment during scanning with the result that poor spectra are obtained since the crystal is mounted in the centre of the solution in the conventional liquid ATR system. For this type of analysis can be obtained using the Gateway™.
Experiment
 In this experiment a Specac Gateway™ accessory is used. (The Gateway™ is shown to the left). The sample was loaded on top of the crystal and particulate matter precipated out onto the crystal surface creating a good contact.
Gateway™ versions are available for use with all FTIR spectrometers. The crystal of the reflectance element is made from zinc selenide, a material that is quite inert to water and readily cleaned between sample by wiping with moist lens tissue. The accessory is typically used for viscous liquids such as creams, pastes and gels which give cleaning problems in conventional liquid ATR systems. Such samples are readily applied to and cleaned from the accessible and removable crystal assembly on the ATR top-plate. In this application note we describe its use for measuring particulate matter (yeast cells and protoplasts) in aqueous suspension. The resolution of the spectrometer was set at 4cm-1 and 1000 data scans.
Results & Discussion
 The spectra shown in Figure 1 have been obtained from an aqueous suspension of the yeast Torulopsis glarat (upper trace) and from distilled water (lower trace). Apart from a slight disturbance in the vicinity of 1000 cm-1 these two spectra seem almost identical. The lower trace shown in Figure 3 is the result after the digital subtraction of the water spectrum from that of the yeast suspension. It will be evident that as well as absorbances at 1050 cm-1 there are significant features at 1630, 1550, 1410 and 1240 cm-1
The main band at 1050 cm-1 has a complex composition and represents absorptions mainly from the carbohydrates of the yeast cell wall. The peaks at 1630 and 1550 cm-1 have been shown to be indicative of the presence of amides and probably come from proteins either attached to or embedded into the cell wall.
 The upper trace in Figure 2 represents the spectrum obtained from a yeast obtained from a yeast preparation treated with snail enzyme. Under the correct conditions this material can be used to break down the cell wall releasing the yeast protoplast. The production of protoplasts is an essential step In the formation of new genetic hybrids. From the spectra it will be seen that the protoplasts and the whole cells have the same type of infrared absorbances present.
The differences between the two spectra lies in the detailed band structure and in the relative peak intensities. In the protoplast spectrum the peaks due to the carbohydrate features are significantly reduced in intensity compared with the peaks from the proteinaceous material. The change is entirely as expected from the structures of the yeast cell and the yeast protoplast as much of the carbohydrate present is located in the cell wall.
Conclusion
The Gateway™ ATR technique provides a quick and efficient method of analysing of particulate matter in suspension. This is very convenient without the disadvantage of problems associated with sedimentation in conventional transmission cells and ATR cells.
Author acknowledgement
Dr J. E. Newbery, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK
Click here for more information on the Specac Gateway™ ATR.
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Specac On The Road
After a busy 2011 on the road we have started to fill our calendar for 2012, below are the shows we have already confirmed for the new year. For our most up to date trade show calendar please click here.
• Pittcon 2012
Orlando, 11 - 15 March 2012 - Booth 3384
Pittcon is the world's largest annual conference and exposition for laboratory science. Pittcon 2012 will offer the latest technology and instrumentation from nearly 1,000 exhibitors, a diverse Technical Program of more than 2,000 technical presentations, 90 plus Short Courses to enhance your educational experience, and networking sessions that provide the chance to exchange innovative ideas with scientists from around the world.
Specac will be there with a range of our products on show and a team of experts there to help you tailor the correct accessory for your application. If you wish to make an appointment please contact us with your availability.
• Analytica 2012
Munich, 17 - 20 April 2012 - Booth TBA
For four decades, Analytica has been the leading international fair for state-of-the-art laboratory technology and pioneering biotechnology. No other trade fair in the world covers the range of subjects to do with the laboratory in industry and science in such breadth and depth, and on such a scale.
The selection of topics here is as specialized as it is extensive - with reference to the sector, analytica covers the entire supply chain involving the laboratory in industry and science from A to Z.
If you’re planning on visiting the Analytica show in Munich don’t forget to visit the Specac booth where you will find members of our sales and technical teams there ready to help you, and a wide range of our products. If you wish to make an appointment please contact us with your availability.
• ACHEMA 2012
Frankfurt, 18 - 22 June 2012 - Booth TBA
ACHEMA is the world forum of the process industry and the trend-setting technology summit for chemical engineering, environmental protection and biotechnology. The 30th ACHEMA will again be the leading international meeting point for decision-makers and experts from all related industries.
Specac will be there with experts ready to help you choose the right accessory for your application. We will have a large selection of our products to show you in Germany. If you wish to make an appointment please contact us with your availability.
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Specac Product Catalogue
• 2012 Edition
In the new year there will be a new catalogue which will include the new products we have launched over the last 12 months, including the Mini-Press, Mini-Film Maker and Starter Kits.
Once completed it will be available as a pdf, downloadable from our website. Hard copies can be requested from us or collected from our stand at any of the shows listed on our trade shows page.
• 2011 Edition
 If you require a copy of our current 2011 catalogue it is available as a pdf download here or you can request a printed copy from reach@specac.co.uk
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Technical Problems and Questions
• Contact our Technical Support Team
Our technical experts are always willing to help our customers with their technical queries and issues. The team can be contacted via the "Technical Support" section of our website or by email: techsupport@specac.co.uk
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Email sales@specac.co.uk
