Picarro Introduces Fully Automated and Integrated System for Bulk 13C Analysis

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 15, 2009

PICARRO INTRODUCES FULLY AUTOMATED AND INTEGRATED SYSTEM FOR BULK 13C ANALYSIS

Picarro CM-CRDS Reduces the Time and Cost of Isotopic Analysis in Food Safety & Authentication, Botanical Origin, Plant Science, Soil Science and Pharmaceutical Quality Control Applications

AGU Meeting, San Francisco, Calif. (Booth #229)—December 15, 2009—Picarro, Inc., the maker of the world's highest performing and easiest to use gas analyzers, today announced that it will debut the Picarro Combustion Module-Cavity Ring-Down Spectrometer (CM-CRDS), a unique portable, easy-to-use system for bulk 13C analysis using CRDS, at the AGU Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. CM-CRDS provides scientists and analytical labs with an integrated solution that will dramatically simplify carbon isotope analysis of various bulk samples, known as bulk stable isotope analysis (BSIA). These analyses are critical for solving problems in food safety that can have a significant impact in human health as well as for understanding important processes in the environment.

CM-CRDS is an integrated solution that combines a Picarro Combustion Module with an autosampler, a Picarro Liaison^TM universal interface, and Picarro's award-winning isotopic CO2 analyzer. The bundle enables high-precision BSIA with unprecedented ease of use, field portability, and low cost of ownership. The integrated CM-CRDS system will be an ideal solution for analytical laboratories with demanding high-throughput operation and for scientists who have not implemented stable isotope techniques in their research due to budget constraints and complexity of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). Potential and current applications of the CM-CRDS solution include food authenticity, plant science, soil science and pharmaceutical quality control.

"Carbon isotope discrimination (CID) has proved to be a useful predictive tool for selection of salt and drought tolerant isolines in plant breeding," according to Dr. Rebecca Hood-Nowotny, senior researcher in the Department of Chemical Ecology and Ecosystem Research at the University of Vienna. "This new robust, low down-time, high throughput system from Picarro will open the doors of isotope technology to breeders around the world, striving to feed the generations of tomorrow."

Dr. Hood-Nowotny also underscores the new research opportunities that the CM-CRDS system will generate in critical public health research projects that affect millions of people around the world. "Given the cataclysmic leaps and the amazing insight into vector ecology that isotope techniques offer, particularly malaria research, their use is sadly limited. This is in part due to the cost and complexity of analysis using IRMS," commented Dr. Hood-Nowotny. "Picarro's CM-CRDS system will blast through these technological and financial barriers and pave the way for new initiatives in public-health and ecological research to end malaria. The simplicity and robustness of this system offers isotope analysis for the masses."

Another potential use case for the CM-CRDS analyzer is for food-related applications. Because it can quickly and easily analyze bulk 13C samples, the Picarro system will enable food safety experts to more effectively detect adulteration, such as in the case of honey or juices adulterated with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

"This transformational solution will open up a whole new world of scientific possibilities that were far-fetched until today," said Michael Woelk, CEO of Picarro. "Picarro consistently strives to make gas and isotope measurements faster and easier, without compromising on precision and accuracy," added Woelk. "By bundling our best of breed components into a tested, integrated solution, we continue to deliver on our promise."

The CM-CRDS bundle will be available in Q1, 2010. The system can be viewed at the 2009 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, where Picarro will both exhibit and present. Government organizations, scientists and media interested in meeting with the company at the event can contact Iain Green at (408) 962-3942 or igreen@picarro.com.