Digital Update

Light-scattering webinars

Wyatt Technology has announced the introduction of a programme of free-of-charge, on-demand webinars about light scattering and related technologies. Designed to meet the increasing demand for scientific training on macromolecular characterization instrumentation, the on-line webinar series is reported to provide comprehensive information about the company's light-scattering products and services. Current webinars are available on high-throughput automated dynamic light scattering using the DynaPro Plate Reader, characterizing protein–protein interactions with static light scattering and the Calypso automated protein association and aggregation system, characterizing protein conjugates and their aggregates by light scattering and field flow fractionation combined with multi-angle light scattering.

www.wyatt.com

Metabolomics library

LECO has released the LECO/Fiehn Metabolomics Library. When combined with the Pegasus HT GC–TOF-MS, TruTOF HT GC–TOF-MS or Pegasus 4D GC×GC–TOF-MS and ChromaTOF software, the company claims it becomes a tool for metabolite identification. According to the company, more than 1100 spectra of 700 unique metabolites are contained within the library, along with retention indices based on a series of fatty acid methyl esters. The library is fully integrated within ChromaTOF, working with the software's Library Search feature to automatically search for possible analyte matches without importing or exporting data. Developed through a unique partnership with Dr. Oliver Fiehn, this extensive and expandable library was obtained using a LECO Pegasus GC–TOF-MS at Dr Fiehn's own laboratory at the University of California-Davis.

www.leco.com

Spreadsheet compliance

Clarmon has introduced QAvalid 2.0 with Excel support, which the company claims will provide an efficient solution for spreadsheet control to mitigate business and compliance risks. The added Excel module extends QAvalid's scope, allowing users to create and manage validation records as well as control Excel templates or workbooks and meet G×P and 21 CFR Part 11 compliance by providing automated audit trails at a cell level and supporting automated versioning and change control for Excel workbooks. According to the company, life science companies focused on improving spreadsheet compliance in an efficient manner can opt to implement the Excel solution only.

www.clarmon.com

Chemical information on an iPhone

Symyx Technologies has announced its ChemMobi App is now available for free on the App Store. This application is reported to give scientists access to over 30 million chemical structures, chemical properties, suppliers and other information in the Symyx databases directly on their iPhone or iPod touch. Powered by DiscoveryGate Web Service (DGWS) and ChemSpider Search, the App enables chemists to search for chemical names or IDs and retrieve associated information including chemical structures, calculated properties, commercial availability from over 860 suppliers, synonyms and material safety data sheet summaries from ChemADVISOR. The app is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or from itunes.

www.itunes.com/appstore/

LC–MS and GC–MS deconvolution software

ACD/Labs has released new software for target analysis of LC–MS and GC–MS datasets without manual interpretation. According to the company ACD/IntelliTarget quickly confirms the presence or absence of known compounds in samples, even at low concentrations or when obscured by the presence of other substances. ACD/IntelliXtract is reported to then extract and identify the ionized molecule and adducts for each component, even when compounds are present at low concentration or co-eluting with other species. The company claims the software is an essential tool to ease the workload of experienced spectroscopists, and for inexperienced users who may find the manual interpretation of data to be overwhelming.

www.acdlabs.com