Cobalt Light Systems, the developer of analytical instruments and technologies previously known as LiteThru Ltd., introduces its TRS100 Rapid Assay System at the prestigious Pittcon 2009 Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy in Chicago March 8th – 13th. The TRS100 is able to assay hundreds of capsules and tablets in minutes and is therefore a powerful alternative to techniques such as HPLC – a workhorse in the industry but three to four orders of magnitude slower.

The TRS100 uses a technique called TRS spectroscopy, developed by the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer Pavel Matousek. TRS allows rapid assay of pharmaceutical dosage forms such as capsules and tablets with no sample preparation. The system does not require skilled operation and the samples are analysed intact, precluding the need to open capsules or break up and prepare samples. One hundred samples can be analysed in less than five minutes, measuring chemical composition, polymorph concentrations and amorphous content. The benefits include faster drug development, quicker product testing in manufacturing and process control improvements.

Speaking of the launch, Craig Tombling, Chief Operating Officer of Cobalt Light Systems said: “We felt that a major international conference like Pittcon was the ideal place to introduce this revolutionary new product. The simplicity of use and the comprehensive nature of the results mean that the TRS100 has many applications and those benefits are very clear to delegates at Pittcon.”

Pavel Matousek, Chief Scientific Officer, spoke at the conference and was able to expand on the technology behind the TRS100:

“The system uses the analytical power of Raman spectroscopy combining light-scattering with chemometric analysis software to achieve a relative error rate as low as 1%. The most exciting application examples are where the contents are hidden, such as opaque capsules or coated tablets.”

The Company also chose Pittcon as the venue to rebrand the organisation from LiteThru Ltd. to Cobalt Light Systems. Darren Andrews, Business Development Director said: “This less-directive name better encompasses the company’s growth and increasing product opportunities.”

About Cobalt Light Systems

Cobalt Light Systems (formerly LiteThru Ltd.) is a spin-out from the STFC’s (The Science and Technology Facilities Council) world famous Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Cobalt has exclusive access to several technologies for non-invasive analysis using Raman spectroscopy. The company is developing solutions for several markets, including pharmaceutical analysis, production monitoring, QC checking in goods manufacture and medical diagnostics.

About Pittcon

The premier conference and exposition on laboratory sciences celebrated 60 years of service to the scientific community on 8th – 13th March. Pittcon is the most comprehensive annual meeting on laboratory science in the world, offering a first class lab product exposition, a diverse, high quality technical program, unparalleled educational programs, and invaluable peer to peer networking opportunities. The 2009 venue was McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois.

www.pittcon.org

About Rainbow Seed Fund:

The £10m Rainbow Seed Fund was established in 2001 with funding from the Office of Science and Innovation to commercialise scientific research in a leading group of the UK publicly funded institutions, our partners. The Fund, which is independently managed by Midven Ltd, made its first investment in 2002, and currently has a portfolio of 20 companies with one exit.

The Fund invests at the earliest stages of a technology’s development, and helps to turn an idea into a business by actively identifying and supporting experienced management and facilitating additional coinvestment. Rainbow’s partners spend over £1 billion on research and development every year giving the Fund privileged access to high quality investment propositions at the earliest stage.