Re: [ccp4bb] suggestions for UV spectrometer

[David Roberts]

Wow, that's like putting a pool in your backyard so you don't have to pay the $3.00 admission every day (I'm kidding).  In any event, Ocean Optics has some very nice, small, and portable units that would run around $3000 total.  These connect to the USB port in a computer and produce data that can be manipulated easily via any spreadsheet manipulation program (open office, whatever).  They are diode array, and so they take quick, continuous spectrum.  We use these in our intro chem classes (sorry, small University, we can't afford the nanodrop) and they work great.  I believe it's the USB2000 if you go to the Ocean Optics website. And, for those who find cuvettes as expensive as a nanodrop system, you can purchase polyacrylate ones that are good down to around 250 nm or so.  They are marketed as disposable, but work well with several washings.  They seem to be consistent from batch to batch, and we do use them for simple 280's on things (though of course we pull out the lock and key and get the quartz ones for those 2 special readings we take every year).  Now, the specs you get are good and reliable (even though we use them with undergrads).  They are not high end Cary's, but I don't think you need that sort of system for simple 280's.  These detectors work as good cheap fluorimeter sources as well with some modifications on the light source (again, look around if that's something you are interested in).  We use the Vernier system here, which allows us to connect spectrophotometers (mentioned above), drop counters, pH probes, temperature probes, and a whole variety of ion selective probes to a computer for data collection using almost any device.  It's quite nice actually (vernier.com I believe).  Good luck with that Dave Michael Giffin wrote: We also like the Nanodrop. Very fast, no cuvettes (breaking, washing, cleaning, uh nitric acid bath anyone?), and the .ndv data file is a delimited text file. Open in a text editor, copy and paste into a spreadsheet, and you have a convenient record of all of your stocks, including date, sample name, concentration, and full spectra. It is expensive, but so are good cuvettes. Mike Michael Giffin The Scripps Research Institute Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, MEM-131 La Jolla, CA 92037 email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] lab: 858-784-7758 On Thu, Dec 4, 2008 at 7:16 AM, Tim Gruene <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dear all, we would like to purchase a UV spectrometer for measuring protein concentrations (280nm), and I would like to here your comments and especially recommendations. We don't need anything fancy, a small, fast device would be sufficient. Tim -- Tim Gruene Institut fuer anorganische Chemie Tammannstr. 4 D-37077 Goettingen GPG Key ID = A46BEE1A