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| Newsletter Vol. 4, No. 2, Summer 2006 | |||||
| In this issue | ||||||
 | A word from our president |
Last week I needed to speak with Cathy Klein, our head of Sales and Marketing. Instead of phoning her or e-mailing her I decided to get a little exercise and walk over to her office. Unfortunately she wasn't in her office so I guess an efficiency expert would say I wasted two minutes. As I walked back down her group's hallway, I was struck by a strange phenomenon: every employee was staring intensely at their computer monitor, a strange glow reflecting off their faces. Everyone was either completely absorbed in their tasks at hand, busily working to satisfy our customers, or they were doing a good job of ignoring the roaming boss. I walked through the lobby and noticed that Tracy Guynes, our Director of First Impressions was staring at her monitor and through his office door I could see Mel Kitagawa, the head of Business Development, staring at his. Actually before starting my journey I had been staring at mine. You are probably thinking: This is not a new phenomenon; for many occupations, computers and Blackberries are key tools of the trade and they allow us to more easily multitask and make the most of our time. But as a society, what have we become? Where is the human interaction? Where is our culture headed? I challenge all of you to take the time to go talk to your neighbor, discuss what they are working on, ask about their families, strategize about a solving a problem, connect through the human spirit. Or, if you're like me, you'll probably just send them an e-mail. We look forward to emerging from behind our computer monitors and seeing many of you face to face at upcoming trade shows this summer. Paul N. Swepston | ||||
| | Calendar of events | |||||
| | Rigaku at ACA 2006 | |||||
| | ActiveSight news | |||||
| | SmartLab wins R&D 100 Award | |||||
| | Training sessions | |||||
| | Saturn CCD results | |||||
| | RoHS/WEEE | |||||
| | Sabbatical results | |||||
| | What's new: Rigaku.com | |||||
| | Rigaku's MiniLab: update | |||||
| | SWMS 2006 | |||||
| | Bio21-C³ | |||||
| Visit us on the web at www.Rigaku.com | ||||||
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Rigaku at ACA 2006 | ||||||
Rigaku will be attending the following conferences in
the coming months:
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We at Rigaku look forward to seeing our old and new friends at this year's ACA. This has been an exciting year at Rigaku, with the introduction of many new products and systems designed to advance your crystallographic research. Many of these products will be on display at our exhibit (Booth 300), including the new Screening HomeLab™, our new SHINE X-ray optics and the newest entry in the Saturn line of CCD cameras. Combining image area and high sensitivity with a fast readout and wide dynamic range, the Saturn A200 is the first synchrotron detector for the home lab. Try your hand at the new Mt. Gui crystal tracking system. We will also have the Minstrel™ I and plate hotel for automated crystal inspection and analysis available for demonstration. For the small molecule lab we present the benchtop SCXmini™ and for the powder enthusiast we will have the ever-popular MiniFlex™ on display. Demos are available on any of these specific products, or you can arrange for an overview of our general protein, small molecule and automation offerings, as well as software demos. If you pre-schedule and complete a demonstration on our equipment at the conference, we will give you a free Rigaku T-shirt. Walk-up demonstrations will be available as scheduling allows, but only prescheduled demos will be eligible for the free gift. In addition to the exhibit, we will be hosting an informative luncheon on Sunday, July 23 at 12:15 p.m. in the Oahu/Waialua room of the Sheraton Waikiki. At the luncheon, we will present our new products, introduce new faces, review the past year, and discuss your future with the Rigaku group. We are also hosting the Rigaku Fun Run/Walk on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:45 p.m. Everyone is invited to participate in this event, including family members. We will meet at the front entrance of the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and walk to the Queen Kapiolani Park as a group. Refreshments, prizes and T-shirts will be given away after the event. If interested please fill out the registration form. We look forward to catching up with you…and your research. Note the following presentations by Rigaku employees: Sunday, July 23
Monday, July 24
Tuesday, July 25
>>> For More information, contact Sue Duncan | |||||
| SmartLab® wins 2006 R&D 100 award | ||||||
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ActiveSight will be presenting two posters
featuring their new fragment screening service and software solutions at the
ACA. John Badger will present a poster (W0064) on the newly developed
client-server software system PyDInt and the Python application BNG, which
allow the automated processing of multiple data sets with subsequent
automated structure solution of the integrated data using MIFit and CCP4.
This software enables the analysis of hundreds of data sets within weeks.
Robin Rosenfeld will present the results of the automated screening of Hsp90 crystals with ActiveSight's fragment library using the in-house ACTOR™/FR-E SuperBright™ system (W0515). This pilot experiment generated a data set which is available for purchase, and validated ActiveSight's fragment screening program, which will be extended to other targets in the ActiveSight Protein Portfolio. The company will also be exhibiting at the Drug Discovery Technology and Development conference in Boston, August 8-10th. Attendees are encouraged to stop by their booth (#420). If you are in the Boston area and would like to talk to ActiveSight during that week, please call Joy Silen (858) 455-6870 x105, or contact info@rigaku.com. |
Rigaku Americas Corporation is pleased to
announce that the Rigaku SmartLab®
Automatic X-ray Diffractometer has won the 2006 R&D 100 Award. Presented
annually for the past 43 years by R&D Magazine,
the R&D 100 Award is a mark of excellence known to industry, government,
and academia as proof that a product is one of the most innovative ideas of
the year.
A theta-theta geometry, horizontal sample mount, high resolution, high power X-ray diffractometer, the SmartLab system can address the full range of sample types (bulk solids, liquids, powders, thin films and multi-layers) and offers the complete range of structural X-ray measurements. Intelligent automation is at the heart of the SmartLab design. The Guidance™ software engine is used to automate all processes. It suggests the best optical configuration for each application and then runs automatically. A SmartLab will be installed at the prestigious Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University. Smalley won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, which in turn set off the nanotechnology revolution. Though Smalley died recently, the Institute remains one of the premier nanotechnology centers in the world. >>> Click here for More information
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| Novel grid and cluster complexes using Saturn CCD | ||||||
Rigaku is pleased to announce the
following training sessions for 2006:
All classes are held at the Rigaku Applications Laboratory in The Woodlands, TX. |
The group, with principal author Prof. Laurence K. Thompson, reported research resulting from strategies to produce coordination complexes with large numbers of transition metal centers. Their approach involved direct synthesis from a poly-functional ligand, employing methods which use the organizing ability of a metal ion together with a ligand or a ligand precursor (e.g. template syntheses). Titled Self-assembled polymetallic square grids ([2 × 2] M4, [3 × 3] M9) and trigonal bipyramidal clusters (M5) - structural and magnetic properties, the paper reports complexes that are based on a series of ditopic and tritopic hydrazone ligands involving pyridine, pyrimidine and imidazole end groups. In all cases, the metal centers were bridged by hydrazone oxygen atoms with large bridge angles. | |||||
| Sabbatical results: Stan Cameron | ||||||
Professor Stan Cameron, Dalhousie University, has visited Rigaku nee Rigaku nee Molecular Structure Corporation as part of his triennial sabbatical program since 1994. After visiting us, he usually completes his sabbatical at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore to work with T. N. Guru Row. Stan/s last visit was during the winter and early spring of 2004, when he collected a number of charge density data sets on both the R-AXIS RAPID and Saturn 70 CCD systems. The fruits of his labor are just coming to press. Stan reports that one paper has been published by the Canadian Journal of Chemistry and describes a topological analysis of the interion interactions of tetraphenylphosphonium squarate1. The significance of this work is the observation of many different types of hydrogen bonds including C-H···C, C-H···O, and C-H···H-C as well as the conventional O-H···O. Stan also studied S2I4 (AsF6)2 and CHI3 (S8)3. Stan and his colleagues found the S-S bond order of 2.4 in S2I4+2 agrees well with predictions. They also found a multitude of I…F and S…F weak-interaction contacts in S2I4 (AsF6)2. Stan has determined that the structure of CHI3 (S8)3 displays weak I…S interactions. Previous theoretical calculations suggested the sulfur was the donor and the iodine the acceptor. The present work suggests the opposite is true. This work will be presented at the ECM in Leuven, Belgium in August. Finally and perhaps most interestingly, the structures of 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3,6,6-trimethyl-2-phenyl-1,5,6,7 – tetrahydro-4H-indol-4-one and 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-methoxy-2-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline have been studied2 and found to have interactions of the type C-H…F and the unusual C-F…F-C, as well as the types found in the squarate structure above. This paper has been accepted by the Journal of Chemical Physics. We look forward to Stan/s next sabbatical in 2007. [1] David Wolstenholme, Manuel A.S. Aquino, T. Stanley Cameron, Joseph D. Ferrara, and Katherine N. Robertson (2006) A topological analysis of the interion interactions of tetraphenylphosphonium squarate. Can. J. Chem. 84, 804-811. [2] Deepak Chopra, T. S .Cameron, Joseph D. Ferrara, Tayur N. Guru Row (2006) Pointers towards the occurrence of C-F…F-C interaction: Experimental charge density analysis of 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-3,6,6-trimethyl-2-phenyl-1,5,6,7– tetrahydro-4H-indol-4-one and 1-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-methoxy-2-phenyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline. J. Chem. Phys. in press. | ||||||
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Beginning July 1, 2006, new environmental rules will apply to a wide range of electrical and electronic equipment sold into European Community (EC) countries. Except where exemptions apply, the Restriction of Use of Certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive will ban the sale of new equipment containing more than specified levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, and other substances.
The associated Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive aims to minimize the impacts of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment during their life times and when they become waste. It applies to a huge spectrum of products within EC countries. WEEE regulates the collection, treatment, recycling and recovery of waste electrical and electronic equipment. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is one of the core analytical techniques for RoHS/WEEE certification. Rigaku has uniquely capable wavelength dispersive XRF instrumentation for compliance and remediation certification, offering both small spot (micro analysis) and mapping capabilities. Unlike traditional energy dispersive XRF mapping systems, the ZSX Primus (tube below) or ZSX Primus II (tube above) systems provide a level of throughput, resolution, and sensitivity that is only achievable with a high-power WDXRD system. |
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| Update on the new X-ray user facility in Cambridge, MA | ||||||
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Keep an eye on www.Rigaku.com.
We'll be launching a completely revamped site before the next issue of
this newsletter is published!
What's new at Rigaku.com:
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Opened
in April, our new multi-disciplinary analytical X-ray user facility in
Cambridge, MA has been well subscribed.
Equipped with the complete suite of Rigaku MiniLab™ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) products, the facility is available at no charge. Researchers in academia and industry—who wish to explore the capabilities of modern analytical X-ray methods and instrumentation—are invited to reserve laboratory time for instrument training, experimental methods development, and open access instrument usage. The MiniLab consists of the new Rigaku SCXmini™ single crystal diffractometer system, a Rigaku MiniFlex™ X-ray powder diffractometer, and a Rigaku ZSXmini II wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Laboratory sessions may be booked by filling out an on-line form. |
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| The Bio21 Collaborative Crystallisation Centre | ||||||
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The 16th Annual Southwest Macromolecular
Symposium was held June 16-18th, 2006 at the Marriott Waterway Convention
Center in The Woodlands. The meeting featured Professor Wim Hol from the
University of Washington as this year's keynote speaker. Professor Hol gave
a sobering, yet humorous and insightful look into his research on three of
the world's most insidious diseases: malaria, cholera, and sleeping
sickness.
The SWMS committee for 2006, Richard Brennan of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (UTMDACC), Robert Fox of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Stephen Sprang of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC) and Yousif Shamoo of Rice University, organized an excellent series of talks by leading researchers. This year's program and the list of participants can be viewed on-line here . Congratulations are in order for Kate J. Newberry of UTMDACC and Shih-Chia Tso of UTSWMC who won the 2006 SWMS Outstanding Poster awards. Dr. Newberry's poster was titled "Structure of a novel transcriptional regulator from B. subtilis in complex with a-CTD of RNA polymerase" and Dr. Tso's poster was titled "Structural Determinants for Cross-talk between Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase 3 and Lipoyl Domain 2 of the Human Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex". We also would like to thank the many attendees, and our vendors who sponsored this great event, Bruker-AXS, Fluidigm, Formulatrix, MiTeGen, Oxford Cryosystems and TriTek. We would also like to thank Rigaku Americas Corp. who sponsored the banquet at the Macaroni Grill in The Woodlands. |
Dr. Catherine Klein represented Rigaku at the launch of the Bio21 Collaborative Crystallisation Centre (Bio21-C³) in Melbourne, Australia in June. The AU $5.3 million facility, the first of its kind in Australia, is a multi-node research and development consortium designed to develop and enhance protein crystallisation expertise using the latest in automation and robotics. Under the Bio21 banner, the Centre is jointly operated by CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, St Vincent/s Institute, the Burnet Institute, and the Victorian College of Pharmacy (Monash University). Operating out of four Melbourne sites, the Centre offers services such as robotic crystallization screening and refinement, robotic crystal tray imaging with two Rigaku Minstrel III systems coupled with RoboIncubator, microfluidic crystallization, and dynamic and static light scattering, using 10-100 times less material than required for manual methods. The Centre will be an important feeder for the Australian Synchrotron when it begins operation in 2007. Its first major coup was to attract Dr. Janet Newman back to Australia from the USA to run the facility. Dr. Newman is an internationally recognized leader in the development of crystallization techniques and methodology, with over twenty years of experience in the field. Run as a not-for-profit technology platform, the Centre is accessible by all research groups within Victoria—commercial, academic and government.
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| 9009 New Trails Drive The Woodlands Texas USA 77381-5209 e-mail: info@Rigaku.com Tel: (281) 362-2300 FAX: (281) 364-3628 | Unit B6, Chaucer Business Park Watery Lane, Kemsing Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 6QY, England e-mail: info@Rigaku.com Tel: [44] 1732 763 367 FAX: [44] 1732 763 757 | |||||
A new paper in the Journal of
Material Chemistry describes the structural and magnetic properties
of several self-assembled poly-metallic square grids and trigonal
bipyramidal clusters. The authors include a group at the Department
of Chemistry, Memorial University of St. John's (Newfoundland,
Canada). Four of the reported structures were obtained using a
Rigaku 
