3 Analytical Instrumentation Companies Letting Their Tech Do the Talking.

Analytical Instrumentation is having a big say on major industries. In the life sciences sector alone, it can be applied to pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, chemicals and more. 

By 2025, the market is expected to be worth $60bn.

Analytical instruments are crucial to manufacturing and R&D, helping analyse materials to establish their composition. This data makes it easier to simplify processes, increase efficiency and productivity. This reduces costs and provides more accurate results fast.

While the market is brimming with well-established players and exciting newcomers, I wanted to spotlight three companies that are letting their technology do the talking.

Markes International

Markes International has been at the forefront of innovation for enhancing the measurement of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs and SVOCs) by gas chromatography (GC).

They’ve turned heads, receiving two prestigious Queens Awards for Innovation & International Trade. This has been thanks to their ground-breaking valving technology, incorporated in all their Thermal Desorption (TD) instruments.

This patented switch-valve allows routine monitoring of a wide range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. It has high tolerance of temperature extremes, is small in size and advantageous for operation and construction from inert materials.

Their automation and concentration platform ‘Centri’ has also picked up awards, being crowned Top Product at Laborexpo 2019 - beating 90 exhibitors.

After recently launching Centri and SepSolve Analytical in the US, partnerships have also begun to develop for Markes in the APAC region. Exciting times are ahead, with continued year on year growth and a global headcount increase in the UK, Germany, US and China.

CAMAG

Smaller in size but equally exciting, CAMAG are a world leader in Planer Chromatography, with an excellent reputation global, supported by their presence in over 70 Countries.

CAMAG’s patented, next generation HPTLC PRO SYSTEM is a fully automated sample analysis and evaluation system. This is expected to be rolled out over the next two years and be the first fully automated analysis for routine QC in HPTLC, with no direct competition.

A system like this would offer an alternative to expensive, bulky, HPLC instruments. This can bring equally quick and accurate results with an easy to handle machine.

The system is best suited for routine quality control of analytes extracted from complex matrices, providing reproducible and reliable results. Its common use is with QC of food, herbal drugs, forensic toxicology and environmental analysis.

While this has already been launched in September 2019, further modules are set to be launched later in 2020. This software soon will help the system become automated.

SPECTRO Analytical

Moving into X-ray instrumentation, this is an area where German company SPECTRO Analytical are making noise.

2019 has been a great year for SPECTRO Analytical, launching several spectrometers for application in elemental analysis. These have set the benchmark for innovation and performance in this area.

The SPECTROCUBE ED-XRF, launched this year, claims to be twice as typical testing with increased accuracy and workflow across a variety of chemical applications.

Their ICP Spectrometer also employs a new approach to environmental testing, an area where many others are looking to improve. Meanwhile their DSOI technology offers twice the sensitivity of convention systems and improves workflow thanks to minimalized maintenance requirements.

With technologies doing the talking for these three small-mid-sized companies, I’m excited to see how larger multinationals like Agilent, Bruker, Danaher, PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher respond. Achieving better and faster results, at a cost-effective price, remains the holy grail in the analytical instrumentation world. Start-up innovation is likely to get there first, but don’t think that the industry big boys won’t put up a fight.