CleanRooms articles from May 2008

CleanRooms archives from May 2008

Is this really happening?(Editorial)
May 1, 2008... So I got a press announcement from FDA this week announcing it was embarking on a "major hiring initiative" to fill more than 1,300 positions within the next several months as part of a multi-year hiring effort. The new employees will be...

Send in the offense for food defense.(news)
May 1, 2008... Military software has been retrained for deployment in protecting the United States' food supply against terrorist attack, helping those in the food business how to think like terrorists might. According to Jon Woody, policy analyst with the...

Mergers and acquisitions may go slow.(news)
May 1, 2008... In one sense, the recent purchase by Entegris (Chaska, MN) of a stake in privately held Integrated Materials, Inc. (Sunnyvale, CA) is just the latest example of a tradition among semiconductor cleanroom equipment manufacturers: When there's a...

FDA takes next step in establishing overseas presence.(news)
May 1, 2008... FDA has received approval from the U.S. State Department to establish eight full-time permanent FDA positions at U.S. diplomatic posts in the People's Republic of China, pending authorization from the Chinese government. This is an important...

White Knight turns adversity into advancement: pre-planning and coordinated response to disaster helps garment manufacturer speed return to productivity.(industry innovators)
May 1, 2008... The experience of White Knight Engineered Products (WKEP) in dealing with disaster is a textbook example of how proper upfront planning and an immediate and well-coordinated response can make the difference between an insurmountable situation...

Questions concerning IEST-RP-CC031.2 answered: the revision expands the list of materials of concern and provides more examples of sample preparation to help eliminate industry confusion.(setting the standard)(Interview)
May 1, 2008... In February 2008, IEST published the latest revision of IEST-RP-CC031.2: Method for Characterizing Outgassed Organic Compounds from Cleanroom Materials and Components. Five years after the original IEST-RP-CC031.1 version was published, this...

Contamination means death for live tissue products: tissue banks and researchers rely on frequent testing and strict cleanroom controls to keep human cell- and tissue-based products alive and free from contamination.(special report)
May 1, 2008... Every year, more than 1.5 million units of allograft tissues harvested from deceased donors are distributed annually for transplant in the U.S. While the risk of bacterial infection from an allograft tissue transplant is extremely low, in an...

The fire-safe cleanroom journey continues: non-fire propagating building materials and tools, along with adherence to fire safety standards, have made the cleanroom industry safer and more aware of the potential cost of cleanroom fires.(cleanroom fire safety)
May 1, 2008... During the past 30 years, the semiconductor industry has experienced exponential growth that has significantly affected consumers' daily lives. This growth, however, has come at the expense of semiconductor process-related fires that have...

Essential elements of effective CAPA systems: CAPA systems will factor into survival of firms in regulated life sciences markets.(capa & contamination control)(corrective and preventive action)
May 1, 2008... The primary objective of a corrective and preventive action (CAPA) is a solution to the problem for which the CAPA was generated. If CAPA efforts are not driving toward a solution they are nothing more than a waste of time and resources. For...

Why CAPA still matters: A properly implemented CAPA system will ensure that root causes of contamination are found and dealt with in a timely manner.(capa implementation)
May 1, 2008... In today's increasingly regulated business environment, environmental health and safety (EHS) remains the critical factor in the day-to-day contamination control operations of organizations. With the multitude of regulations being imposed by...

Wipers.(product spotlight)
May 1, 2008... Wipers are a cost-effective solution for helping maintain equipment and facility cleanliness. Here are some of the offerings appropriate for use in a critical environment. Non-woven wipers Connecticut Clean Room Corp. offers non-woven...

Self-wringing mop.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Connecticut Clean Room Corp. is now offering the new self-wringing Roll-O-Matic[R] mop with ergonomic extendable aluminum and stainless-steel handle. It works well for applying disinfectant to floors, walls, and ceilings in controlled...

Disinfecting wipes.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Metrex Research Corp. announces CaviWipes, the newest member of its surface disinfection line. Its patented design offers a new easy-open/easy-close pull tab with slim, flexible packaging and adhesive-backed strips. Each flat pack contains...

Basket strainers.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Basket strainers made of Kynar[R] PVDF are now available from Micromold Products, Inc. With higher capacity than Y-strainers, these units capture substantial undissolved solids. The highly corrosion resistant, all plastic FLUORO-SHIELD[TM]...

Chromatography media.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Millipore Corp. announces the availability of its ProSep Ultra Plus affinity chromatography medium for the capture and large-scale purification of higher-titer therapeutic antibodies. The medium is a protein A based affinity resin with the...

Vacuum inlet trap.(new products)
May 1, 2008... A high capacity vacuum inlet trap for protecting vacuum pumps used in highly corrosive deposition processes is available from MV Products. The MV Multi-Trap[R] 16-in. vacuum inlet trap features a knock-down stage, two stages of user-selectable...

HEPA filtered vacuum.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Oneida Air Systems announces its new Gorilla Vac. Powered by dual 110-V motors and equipped with HEPA filtration, the vacuum brings a new level of power and portability to the industrial workplace. The industrial-quality vacuum exhibits no...

Platinum cured tubing.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Qosina announces the addition of Class VI platinum cured tubing to its inventory. This coiled tubing has a 50A durometer and various I.D. and O.D. options for biotechnical, medical, and pharmaceutical applications. Platinum cured tubing...

Spray drying system.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Sono-Tek Corp. introduces the SonoDry 1000 spray drying system featuring precision, non-clogging ultrasonic spray nozzles. It is suitable for aqueous/aqueous + solvents/solvents feeds. Featuring an ambient drying temperature of 250[degrees]C,...

Biological safety cabinet.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. introduces the new 1300 Series A2 Class II biological safety cabinet. The 1300 platform offers significantly improved energy efficiency, simpler operation, and less maintenance than traditional cabinets. These...

Aseptic sanitization system.(new products)
May 1, 2008... A new system that employs pulsed UV light to achieve bioreduction and surface sanitization of boxes, bags, and carts prior to entering an aseptic room is being introduced by Xenon Corp. The SteriPulse[R] RS-3000 aseptic sanitization system is...

Handheld ESD event detector.(new products)
May 1, 2008... The 3M brand ESD Pro Event Detector is a hand-held indicator of ESD events that detects and counts discharges and shows the relative electrical strength of each ESD event on a bar graph display. The portable 3M ESD Pro Event Detector serves as...

Downflow workstation.(new products)
May 1, 2008... The new DWS range of downflow workstations from Air Science provides operator safety where routine work is being carried out. These units operate at low noise levels and because they recirculate, they do not exhaust expensive conditioned and/or...

Solar cell metallization screen printer.(new products)
May 1, 2008... DEK introduces the PVP1200 screen printer capable of 1,200 wafers-per-hour throughput and offering advanced automated features for high speed and repeatability. Six-sigma repeatability at [+ or -]12.5-[mu]m resolution demonstrates capability in...

LCD controller.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Digital View's HE-1920 is a fully buffered multi-sync interface controller that provides analog and digital connections for large format, high-definition TFT LCDs. The controller is designed to comply with the strict standards required for the...

Pressure transmitter.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Dwyer Instruments, Inc. announces the release of its new Series 610 low differential pressure transmitter. The transmitter is capable of measuring the pressure and flow of air or non-conducting gases at greater resolution in cleanrooms,...

Indoor air filters.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Euromate introduces two new main filters for the VisionAir air cleaner in order to tackle the problems of polluted indoor air. The EnzyMax is a filter that destroys microorganisms such as viruses, fungi, and bacteria. The filter includes an...

Antimicrobial solutions.(new products)
May 1, 2008... FreshFx[R] antimicrobial solutions are safe, effective, and environmentally sound and protect against pathogens such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter, and Listeria. Poultry processing plants use these solutions to improve water quality,...

TGA-MS system.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Optimized specifically for monitoring fast evolved-gas events, the latest update of the Hiden HPR-20 TGA benchtop mass spectrometer features a state-of-the-art integrated interface and analysis system for real-time unequivocal detection of...

Isolator sampling system.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Monitoring of the atmosphere inside isolators is very critical in maintaining high quality standards. There are risks in using portable environmental samplers because they must be introduced each time a sample is taken. The SAS-Isolator from...

ESD wrist strap.(new products)
May 1, 2008... JDV Products Inc. announces a new ESD wrist strap from VESSEL Co. (model EPS-01). The strap is well-suited for preventing static electricity during assembly operation on electronic equipment and components. When operators are not properly...

Syringe pump.(new products)
May 1, 2008... The KD Scientific Model KDS 310 syringe pump is well-suited for pumping radioactive chemicals where a beta or gamma shield must be present due to its remote pumping unit and control box. The control box can be located up to 6 ft. away, which...

Shaft collars and couplings.(new products)
May 1, 2008... A line of 316 stainless steel shaft collars and couplings is available from Stafford Manufacturing Corp. Stafford 316 SST collars and couplings are designed for use with mixing equipment, drive systems, conveyors, and other machinery exposed to...

Liquid chromatography columns.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Supelco[R], a division of Sigma-Aldrich, introduces Ascentis[R] Express HILIC HPLC columns for high-speed and high-efficiency separations. The columns are designed to provide the analysis speed and resolving power of sub-2-[mu]m columns with a...

Dual cold probe.(new products)
May 1, 2008... Varian, Inc. announces its new XSens[TM] dual cold probe designed for use with the Varian NMR system. The probe is the company's most sensitive probe for 13C detected NMR experiments. The probe offers productivity and data quality enhancements...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2008... JUNE 1-5 Nano Science and Technology Institute (NSTI) Nanotech 2008. Hynes Convention Center, Boston, MA. For more information: www.nsti.org JUNE 1-5 American Society for Microbiology (ASM), 108th General Meeting, Trade Show, and...