Andor Technology plc : Pioneering publication reports first ratiometric, single-protein red fluorescent pH sensor in live neurons
Harvard Medical School team uses Andor Revolution DSD confocal for simultaneous measurement of intracellular pH and ATP in live cells
Belfast, Northern Ireland, 10 January 2011
http://bit.ly/Aw8Ife

12/07/2011 | 07:36 am
Andor Technology plc : Andor pairing can tell their Ardberg from their Edradour
http://bit.ly/rrwq7X
St Andrew's University researchers use laser-based near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to characterise whiskies and identify fakes

7th December 2011, Belfast, UK: If you can't tell your Bruichladdich from your Irn-Bru, or your Glenfiddich from your Glenmorangie, help is at hand from the physics department at St Andrews University. Praveen Ashok, Kishan Dholakia and Bavishna Praveen of the optical manipulation group have developed a microfluidic device that can not only detect counterfeit whisky samples but also characterise genuine samples by brand, age and, even, cask.

Quality standardisation for Scotch whisky is assessed using alcohol content, colour consistency and flavour. Low alcohol content is a primary indicator of fake whisky but the distinctive flavour, which is determined by its congener profile, is very difficult to mimic. This profile is governed by organic compounds formed during fermentation and during maturation in wooden casks. Amounting to less than 1% of the total volume, these include organic acids, higher order alcohols, esters, and aldehydes and wood extracts, such as tannin, acid and colouring matters.

The team used an alignment-free, optical fibre based, optofluidic chip to analyse 20 µL samples of commercially available single malt whiskies using Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. No sample preparation was involved, variation due to ethanol evaporation was eliminated by the confinement within the microfluidic channel and the analysis time of was approximately two seconds. Raman and fluorescence spectra were recorded by an Andor Shamrock SR-303i spectrometer equipped with an Andor Newton DU920P BR-DD back-illuminated, thermoelectrically-cooled CCD camera.

"The Raman spectra of the whisky samples is dominated by peaks corresponding to 40% ethanol and our results clearly demonstrate that the alcohol content may be predicted to a probability of more than 99%, enough to rapidly weed out the majority of fakes" says Praveen Ashok. "Although the congener components could not be distinguished from differences in the Raman peaks, the broad fluorescence background is markedly different for different types of whisky due to the variation in congener profiles. The result is successful classification of whiskies based upon their age, origin and cask - a skill few human palettes can match.

"We chose the Andor analytical instruments due to the high sensitivity of the DU920P BR-DD CCD camera and the small form factor of the Shamrock SR-303i spectrometer. While its performance is every bit as good as a bench-top system, the Shamrock's compact size and low weight lent it a degree of portability as well. This was important to us as we wanted to demonstrate the potential of a hand-held device that could be used by distilleries to quality control their production by benchmarking against a known standard. The same hand-held instrument could also be used to test for counterfeit whisky bottles and confidently deliver reliable results in seconds," concludes Ashok.

"The maintenance-free, deep Thermo-Electric cooling and USB connectivity of the Newton Deep-Depletion platform enables access to the highest NIR sensitive detection, not only in Research labs but also in challenging industrial environments," according to Antoine Varagnat, Product specialist at Andor. "When combining the Shamrock 303 USB spectrograph with their novel Raman-based micro-fluidics system, Ashok's team were able to successfully demonstrate a very sensitive and accurate setup for the rapid characterization and sorting of liquids, This also enabled them to identify counterfeit lots of potentially valuable spirits in an industrial environment. This powerful Raman micro-fluidics technique will be of great interest for the liquid-processing industry in general, but this is also great news for Whisky aficionados around the wor

12/05/2011 | 11:42 am
http://www.4-traders.com/ANDOR-TECHNOLOGY-PLC-4004967/news/ANDOR-TECHNOLOGY-PLC-Non-invasive-instrument-for-skin-cancer-screening-demonstrated-13919984/
Andor Technology plc : Non-invasive instrument for skin cancer screening demonstrated

Andor Newton camera powers combined RS-OCT probe capable of both morphological and biochemical characterization of skin cancers

Skin cancer is the most common form of human cancer with annual rates continuing to climb from their current estimate of just over three million new cases each year. Although all skin cancers share the likelihood of a favourable outcome if early diagnosis and complete resection are achieved, diagnosis is invasive, subjective, lengthy and expensive involving expert visual inspection, biopsy and histopathology.

Now, a joint US-Dutch team under the direction of Anita Mahadevan-Jansen, Vanderbilt University, US, has developed a non-invasive probe capable of both morphological and biochemical characterization of skin cancers. The portable instrument combines a Raman spectroscopy (RS) system with an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) device and enables sequential acquisition of co-registered OCT and RS data sets. An Andor high resolution, near-infrared-enhanced Newton camera was chosen as the core element of the Raman diagnosis module. The probe will screen large areas of skin up to 15 mm wide to a depth of 2.4 mm with OCT to visualize microstructural irregularities and perform an initial morphological analysis of lesions. The OCT images are then used to identify locations to acquire biochemically specific Raman spectra.

"Due to the inherently weak nature of Raman scattering and the relatively intense background autofluorescence from tissue, collection efficiency is a critical factor in the design of clinical RS probes," says Chetan A. Patil, Vanderbilt University, US. "Unlike confocal approaches that emphasize axial resolution, our probe is designed to prioritize collection efficiency. The high sensitivity of the Andor Newton CCD's back-illuminated, deep-depletion, thermo-electrically cooled design is well suited to the stringent demands of in vivo Raman spectroscopy.

"Having demonstrated the clinical potential of the RS-OCT instrument to rapidly screen at risk patients, we are continuing to develop the dual-modal technique for other applications where non-invasive assessment of both microstructure and biochemical composition are critical to accurate assessment of pathology. The Labview software development kit, which is supplied with the camera and supported directly by Andor, was crucial in the development of our first probe and in our on-going research," concludes Patil.

According to Antoine Varagnat, Product Specialist at Andor, "With its high sensitivity in the NIR enabled by high Quantum Efficiency and deep TE-cooling interface, the Newton Deep-Depletion CCD platform is just the right detector for demanding clinical NIR spectral diagnosis. One also gets the benefit of long-lasting detection performance and reliability with Andor's UltraVac™ vacuum technology, alongside high speed acquisitions and ease of integration."

Andor's modular Spectroscopy solutions encompass a wide range of high performance CCD, ICCD, EMCCD and InGaAs array detectors, as well as a comprehensive range of Research-grade spectrograph platforms. To learn more about the Newton camera series and their use in spectroscopy, please visit the Andor website .

http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/2011/11/28/shares/news-and-analysis/andor-marches-on-2p3cMNM5Jg5o69UITvKbvN/article.html
Andor marches on
By Graeme Davies, 28 November 2011

Scientific imaging manufacturer Andor Technology maintained its enviable growth record by registering an impressive 14th consecutive year of compound sales growth of over 30 per cent.
Andor has benefited from continued growth in its core high-end markets, where it's taking market share, coupled with an expansion of its product range into mid-range products. This resulted in growth of at least 20 per cent in every business segment and region in which Andor sells. The group enjoyed particular success in sales of bespoke systems, which more than doubled and now account for 22 per cent of total revenues. The systems offering was boosted by two acquisitions last year.
Systems sales are lower margin than product or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales, which meant that overall gross margins dipped a little – although chief executive Conor Walsh doesn't expect systems to grow beyond 30 per cent of revenues as it has the potential to cannibalise other parts of the business.
Andor's order book grew £400,000 on last year to £13.8m. But there's relatively limited visibility in the order book and Mr Walsh admitted there are signs of nervousness, particularly in the US OEM market where there has been some de-stocking of inventories.
Broker finnCap expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £11.5m for 2012, and EPS of 28.6p (from £9.7m and 24.8p in 2011 ).
ANDOR TECHNOLOGY (AND)
ORD PRICE: 550p MARKET VALUE: £168.8m
TOUCH: 545-554p 12-MONTH HIGH: 690p LOW: 361p
DIVIDEND YIELD: nil PE RATIO: 25
NET ASSET VALUE: 128p* NET CASH: £12.7m
Year to 30 Sep Turnover (£m) Pre-tax profit (£m) Earnings per share (p) Dividend per share (p)
2007 21.3 1.28 4.37 nil
2008 24.7 1.51 4.22 nil
2009 33.1 4.61 14.4 nil
2010 42.7 5.81 15.7 nil
2011 57.4 8.74 21.6 nil
% change +34 +50 +38 -
Ex-div: -
Payment: -
*Includes intangible assets of £16.6m, or 54p a share
IC VIEW:

A forward PE ratio of 19 isn't cheap, but Andor's new product launches and increased market penetration bode well for 2012 – despite the challenging wider economic conditions. Long-term good value.