Broanmain and Specac revolutionise liquid analytes lab testing

From prototype to full scale production, technical moulder Broanmain Plastics has assisted lab testing spectrometer innovator Specac Ltd to develop a unique puck and slide concept that prevents cross contamination of food & drink, microbiological, chemical and forensic liquid laboratory samples.

Specac recently unveiled its revolutionary ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) consumable Arrow concept, which comprises a puck and silicon wafer ATR consumable polypropylene slides featuring overmoulded lids, allowing lab scientists to batch test, save and cross-compare chemical changes in samples over a period of time.

Removing the need to clean the spectrometry puck between each individual lab sample has been hailed by Specac and industry experts as a major scientific breakthrough, as it safeguards against cross contamination and accelerates analysis.

Technical tool developer and injection moulding specialist Broanmain previously assisted Specac with its development of a new ATR accessory for the company’s high-spec offering to the spectroscopy market. This project’s success instilled so much confidence in Specac’s team, they invited Broanmain’s tooling and production professionals to input into the full development of this completely new ATR concept.

Specac’s original concept was to create a disposable puck for high-volume hazardous applications. Yet, through collaboration with Broanmain, the idea progressed to the development of an aluminium holding puck and disposable recyclable silicon ATR slides, which used less material, so was less wasteful.

At the very first meeting, suggestions for tooling and material mouldability were made. Within a week Broanmain had commissioned a specialist to build the prototype Arrow aluminium tooling for the slide with a built-in silicon wafer ATR crystal. The Broanmain team also pooled their expertise in overmoulding and material selection for the development of Arrow slide, opting for an acid-resistant polypropylene combined with elastomer. The result was a single component, cleverly constructed to reduce part count and manufacturing complexity.

Specac’s Strategic Buyer Anthony Gomme said: “It’s always our experience that collaboration with a production partner like Broanmain at the earliest stage results in the best product development and speeds up time to market.”

Broanmain Operations Manager Thomas Catinat added: “It’s always exciting to be involved in such a revolutionary market development that has the potential to reshape how scientific communities will perform sample analysis in the future. As these processes become increasingly automated, innovations like the Arrow ATR will yield more accurate and reproducible results.”