Low-Volume Short Pathlength Spectrophotometer for Life Scientists

AstraNet Systems Ltd, a manufacturer of analyser systems based on fibre optic coupled spectrophotometry, is pleased to announce the availability of a new product for the Life Sciences market. Low volumes (2.5ul) of highly concentrated sample can be measured within a short pathlength environment (1mm), making the instrument ideal for DNA, RNA and protein determination without the need for sample dilution.

AstraGene II has a spectral bandwidth of <2nm and uses a pulsed xenon lamp as the light source and a 3648 pixel CCD as the detector. It measures samples directly in specially constructed, optically transmitting pipette tips (patented) that transmit reliably in both the UV and visible parts of the spectrum; after measurement, the sample can be transferred by pipette directly into a tube or well ready for the next workflow step, the tip is ejected and a new tip is picked up ready for the following sample. No cleaning between samples is required, there is no cross contamination and there is no sample loss, making the system ideal for medium to high throughput laboratories.

Researchers using this product will also benefit from low cost of ownership due to the fact that with no moving parts, a regular service engineer instrument recalibration is not necessary.