Once again, we have the pleasure to hear from one of our manufacturers about a product that makes them proud. We appreciate the opportunity to work together and deliver high-quality content that informs and entertains. Thank you Carl and the VitL team for sharing this with us:
When you think of a heated mixer you probably don’t think about programmability, tiny error bars and removing variables – we’re here to tell you that you should expect more!
Research in Nanoparticles is nothing new; in fact scientists have been talking about them for over a decade now.
So with all of this research going on, what is holding back their use in medicine? The problem, according to the Medway School of Pharmacy at the University of Kent (UK), is that there are no efficient and repeatable methods of manufacturing (known as synthesis).
If a researcher is unable to synthesize particles of the same size and composition it is impossible for them to gain any meaningful data when testing the applications of the particles.
Using the Vitl Ther-Mix has allowed the Medway School of Pharmacy to optimize their process and remove many of the variables usually encountered during the synthesis stages. These variables are heating temperature, mixing time and mixing speed.
Unlike any other heated laboratory mixer available, the advanced software and touch-screen user interface of the Ther-Mix allows the user to create, store and run programs with multiple mixing and heating steps. Once you have created your program, simply press go, do something more important and wait for the beep to tell you that your protocol is completed – no need for a stopwatch!
Nano-particles are also highly temperature sensitive. Previously, the School of Pharmacy had to use an incubator and heat monitoring devices to attempt to control the temperatures at which they were heating their particles. Now the Ther-Mix provides unmatched levels of temperature control and accuracy, allowing the team to know exactly what conditions their particles have been produced under.
In a recent interview with Vitl, Dr Vladimir Gubala, Lecturer in Chemistry and Drug Delivery said: “Anything that gives you the option to automatically start, stop or stop and restart again gives you some control over how reproducible your products are. There’s a big inaccuracy between what we actually produce because the nano-material is synthesized under different conditions”
This video from PhD Student Giorgia Giovannini explains a little more about what they are doing and how the Ther-Mix is helping:
Find out more about the Vitl Ther-Mix and ask us for a test-drive.