The deal will allow ABI's SQL*LIMS laboratory information system to take control of Mettler Toledo instruments via the latters LabX software. Users will operate the equipment as normal, whilst saving time spent with instrument and method validation, according to the firms.
Increasing industry competition coupled with rising costs and stricter regulations has put pressure on both equipment manufacturers and researchers to ramp up effeciency - especially when dealing with huge amounts of data. Many believe the answer to this problem lies with integration between instrument developers, and this deal is a step towards that.
Improved lab management through greater integration can increase production and reduce costs. It can also improve the quality of research through cutting down on procedural errors, which in turn increases the reproducibility of a scientists experiments. This is crucial both to the dissemination and acceptance of results by other scientists but also to regulator approval.
When the LIMS is controlling the Mettler equipment, it sends all the operator instructions to the instrument screen. It collects and stores the data in full - although data can also be stored using LabX if preferred - and performs automated reporting and documentation for audit trails.
Together, the two companies believe their software create a fully validated environment whilst also giving scientists more flexibility in method development. The idea is, that the joint package can completely control their balance and titration instruments within SQL*LIMS, without the need for specialist LIMS training.
Mettler Toledo sensing the way forward
Mettler Toledo has also announced that it has released a new optical oxygen sensor called InPro 6880i, for use in biopharmaceutical processes - whether in small, autoclavable research bioreactors or in full production-scale vessels.
During fermentation processes, air feed and agitator speed are adjusted according to the amount of dissolved oxygen. This is to ensure optimal growth conditions for the microorganisms.
Within the pharma industry, mammalian cell culture processes are the increase and these react much more sensitively to changes in their environment than bacterial cultures. They also grow significantly slower.
The InPro 6880i contains an oxygen sensitive layer of immobilised molecular markers. They respond to light by means of a chemo-optical mechanism that is influenced by the amount of oxygen diffusing into the layer.
The firm believes this type of instrument is superior as it does not need electrolyte solution and therefore simplifies sample handling.
