A group of Sheldon employees served up everybody’s favorite dinner this week (hint: it involves pancakes and eggs!) to help support HomePlate Youth Services, an organization dedicated to the “positive development of young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability through community building, education, access to services and resources and youth empowerment.”

Employees are eager to regularly support this worthwhile organization and the teens and families the group works to assist. Giving back to the community is a passion shared throughout the Sheldon Manufacturing family, and the HomePlate dinners offers a chance to provide benefits to the community and enjoy quality time with each other as well. Good times!

This month our group served dinner to more than 25 teens and their families, giving us the opportunity to practice our hotcake-flipping skills while providing a nutritious, healthy meal for the teens.

HomePlate offers young people a positive environment where they can drop-in for a weekly free dinner. The goal of these events is simple: provide a meal for young people who are without a stable place to live or are experiencing homelessness.

To donate or to learn more about how to get involved, visit the HomePlate website for more information.

Sheldon employees served "breakfast for dinner" at the HomePlate Dinner

Dan Sheldon Serves Up Pancakes at HomePlate Youth Services Event

About Sheldon Manufacturing:

Sheldon Manufacturing, Inc. is a global manufacturer of constant temperature equipment for the biotechnology pharmaceutical, research and production markets. Under our SHEL LAB brand, our product lines include Bactron anaerobic chambers, CO2 incubators, vacuum ovens, refrigerated incubators, shaking water baths and more.

Over the next few months we’ll be gearing up for the 2012 trade show season, and we’re already getting excited to participate in this year’s list of great events.

Beginning in April, 2012, Sheldon will be an exhibitor at several premier industry trade shows, including the well-known analytica Trade Fair in Munich, Germany as well as events in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Portland.

Here is a list of events we will be exhibitors at this year:

• analytica 23rd International Trade Fair for Laboratory Technology, Analysis, Biotechnology and analytica Conference April 17-20, 2012, Munich, Germany
• ASM 112th General Meeting June 16-19, 2012, San Francisco, California
• Clinical Lab Expo, July 15-19, 2012, Los Angeles, California
• World Brewing Congress, July 28-August 1, 2012, Portland, Oregon

These shows are a wonderful way to get out and meet members of the industry and to share news and updates about our SHEL LAB anaerobic and CO2 incubators, vacuum ovens and other laboratory equipment. Stay tuned! We will update with new show information, just visit our SHEL LAB events page for more information and updates.

Choosing the right incubator for your research needs can be a confusing process no matter what your laboratory setup; which is why at Sheldon we do our best to guarantee customers have all the tools they need to make an informed decision when the time comes to buy. We want customers to purchase the right incubator to help keep their samples safe, contaminant free, and capable of producing reliable results every time.

And it’s also why we were so pleased when we were asked to contribute an article to Lab Outlook Magazine, a digital supplement to the popular Laboratory Equipment Magazine. The article, “Practice Safe Specimen Storage,” is featured in November’s issue of the publication and covers many of the important factors to consider when deciding which incubator to buy, including:

• Incubator size, stability and uniformity
• Antimicrobial effects of copper
• Water jacket vs. air jacket insulation

The article also incorporates a new video featuring President Dan Sheldon and Product Design Engineer Pradeep Muppala as they discuss product features of the SHEL LAB General Purpose Incubators.

Both the article and the video are great resources for anyone considering a new incubator, so be sure to read the entire article in this month’s Lab Outlook Magazine and view our new video on the Sheldon Manufacturing YouTube channel!

Sheldon Manufacturing has been building the SHEL LAB line of incubators and ovens for over 40 years. Learn more about our CO2 Incubators, forced air laboratory ovens, Bactron Anaerobic Chambers and more at our online store!

Sheldon Manufacturing has spent 40 years providing high-quality vacuum ovens, lab incubators and other equipment for use in industrial, clinical and laboratory applications, and making sure our customers have the reliable tools they need is our biggest priority. Which is why at Sheldon we love to hear back from the customers who use our products every day—like Université de Montréal Professor, Dr. Roger Lippé. Dr. Lippé works in the Cell Biology Research department and recently shared his experience using the SHEL LAB 3552 laboratory incubator:

The SHEL LAB 3552 incubator is the Cadillac in tissue culture equipment. Conveniently sized, with an appealing look, a sensitive infrared CO₂ sensor and possibility to stack them, it perfectly fulfills all our needs. Unlike many competitors, it provides true sterilization with a unique 180^oC decontamination cycle. An important bonus is the ability to do so without removing the IR sensor, hence simplifying the procedure and minimizing the risk of damage. Other instruments either offer half measures (e.g. 90^oC decontamination that takes 1-2 days to complete) or complex options that are more likely to break, be expensive to repair and in some cases not as efficient (e.g. peroxide injection, plasma sterilization, UV). Moreover, these alternative sterilization techniques, designed for heat sensitive hospital equipment, are not necessary for tissue culture. Effective simplicity is always the best option.

Another strong advantage of SHEL LAB incubators is the unusually long warranty on the incubator (5 years) and IR sensor (7 years). No competitor offers such an excellent warranty. This is particularly important in view of the high costs of labor to repair scientific equipment, potentially saving hundreds to thousands of dollars. Another important characteristic is the quick recovery following the opening of the door. This provides for a more stable environment, a critical aspect of cell culture that reflects a very careful design of the instrument. Naturally, a constant and uniform temperature and humidity throughout the incubator is equally important when the door is closed.

-Dr. Roger Lippé, Université de Montréal

Thank you, Dr. Lippé! We always love to hear stories from our customers—and we’d love to hear from you, too. What do you think about your SHEL LAB vacuum oven, incubator, or humidity cabinet? Have you had a noteworthy experience using a SHEL LAB product? How about during the purchase process? We want to hear about it! If you would like to share your SHEL LAB experience with us, drop us an email today, we may just share it with our other customers! Stay tuned for more stories from real-life SHEL LAB customers!

Protect your cells!  Minimize the threat of surface contamination with copper’s natural bactericidal and fungicidal properties: SHEL LAB now offers copper shelves for use in our CO2 incubators.

Laboratory testing has shown that when cleaned regularly, Antimicrobial Copper surfaces:

1. Continuously reduce bacterial* contamination, achieving 99.9% reduction within two hours of exposure;
2. Kill greater than 99.9% of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria* within two hours of exposure;
3. Deliver continuous and ongoing antibacterial* action, remaining effective in killing greater than 99.9% of bacteria* within two hours;
4. Kill greater than 99.9% of bacteria* within two hours, and continue to kill 99% of bacteria* even after repeated contamination; and
5. Help inhibit the buildup and growth of bacteria* within two hours of exposure between routine cleaning and sanitizing steps.”**”

*Testing demonstrates effective antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter aerogenes, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

**The use of an Antimicrobial Copper surface is a supplement to and not a substitute for standard infection control practices; users must continue to follow all current infection control practices, including those practices related to cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces. The Antimicrobial Copper surface material has been shown to reduce microbial contamination, but it does not necessarily prevent cross contamination.

Copper shelves are now available on SHEL LAB incubator models:  3503, 3517, 3524, 3552, 2406, 2406/2, and 5215

Students and clinicians alike have a shiny new tool in their educational toolbox this week. Whether they are learning new skills and knowledge relating to anaerobic bacteria or merely brushing up on anaerobes, Sheldon Manufacturing has just made it easier to do—with the first release of the SHEL LAB Anaerobic Education Tool. This new interactive educational tool offers a five-section course specially geared to professional clinicians or to students who are just starting out. It includes a slideshow and 22-question quiz designed to help students and professionals learn new material, review concepts and test their new knowledge. Some features of the slideshow include:

•    An overview of common pathogens

•    Proper culture techniques

•    Anaerobic media characteristics

•    Culture, isolation and identification protocol

Anaerobic Microbiology Tool

“Sheldon wanted to create a tool that benefits both clinicians and students,” says Amy Schulties, Director of Sales and Marketing at Sheldon Manufacturing. “We wanted to find a way to keep students interested and engaged while learning about these organisms, and this website offers just that while still providing a tool for learning and evaluation.”
The SHEL LAB Anaerobic Education Tool includes nearly 50 slides, but students and professionals can easily move through sections at their own pace, skipping sections if they are already comfortable with the material or going back to chapters that need additional time for review . Correct answers to quiz questions are provided immediately following a student’s answer choice for quick review of any questions missed, and you can email yourself the results to impress your Microbiology Professor or Lab Supervisor.

You can test your knowledge at – http://anaerobe.shellab.com

We can’t wait to return to the largest annual meeting and event for Microbiology, ASM 2011. We have a slew of new equipment and constant temperature units to be featured in New Orleans. Contact Us now and let us know you will be there or stop by our booth at the show. See you there!

Don’t miss us, BOOTH # 525, we have lots of new things to show off including hypoxic control for the Bactron Anaerobic Chamber.

Register to win an iPad 2, 32gb at the show!

May 21 2011 – May 24 2011
Ernst M. Moral Convention Center
900 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA

Given our passion for quality anaerobic microbiology technique, you can imagine how excited we were to see the Bactron IV/900 in this news article about the new DANONE Research Centre for Special Nutrition in Singapore.  Recently we have been answering a lot of inquiries about using anaerobic techniques for food and beverage quality assurance, and would encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have about the Bactron line.

From the Article:
Danone to invest S$70m in R&D centre in Singapore

SINGAPORE : International food company Danone will be investing some S$70 million over the next five years in a specialised research and development centre in Singapore.

The global player said the Danone Research Centre for Specialised Nutrition focuses on child and maternal health and is the first of its kind in Asia Pacific.

It is targeting to have a team of 50 scientists based at the centre in the next five years.

The centre looks at areas such as the impact of nutrition on gut bacteria, immune system and the overall growth and development of babies and children.

Danone said that it hopes to provide state of the art products, and added that one of the reasons for positioning the centre in Singapore was to be close to business.

Eline Van Der Beek, research director at Danone Research, said: “Asia Pacific is very important to us, and Singapore is a very important starting place to meet the whole Asia Pacific region. The second reason is of course the scientific environment here in Singapore being very open and very mature.”

Danone is present in over 120 countries on five continents. In 2010, Danone had more than 160 production plants and around 100,000 employees, generating sales of over S$30 billion, of which 50 per cent were in emerging economies.

Julian Ho, assistant managing director at the Economic Development Board Singapore, said: “Singapore is proud to host Danone’s Asia-Pacific hub for research and innovation – the first in Asia for Danone to focus fully on science for child and maternal health.

“The new centres at Biopolis would be able to benefit from the synergies between Singapore’s world-class biomedical research capabilities and access scientific insights in Asia Pacific.”

- CNA/ms

Pittcon 2011 showcases the latest from the SHEL LAB line. 2010 was an extremely satisfying year for all of us a Sheldon Manufacturing. We unleashed new Lab equipment, including our popular BacBASIC environmental workstation and incubator for anaerobic microbiology, the new quick-processing HC6 Humidity Chamber, the compact SI2 Mini Shaking Incubator, and our powerful instant Vortex Mixer. Make sure you stop by Booth 718 at Pittcon this year to say hi and ask us about these products, our new limited warranties, and what product launches we have in 2011.

2011 PITTCON Conference & Expo
Mar 13 2011 – Mar 18 2011
Georgia World Congress Center
285 Andrew Young International Blvd., NW
Atlanta, GA USA
BOOTH # 718

See where else we will be this year!

Speaking of what we have in store for 2011, Lab Professionals, we want your input!

As an OEM of over 40 years, we have the capability to design new equipment for your specific lab application. We are always looking for new ways to help lab professional’s daily work more efficient, accurate, and and most importantly, easier! We want your help so we can continue to design highly relevant and quality equipment for industrial, clinical, and laboratory applications. Reach out to us and let us know what your unique needs and lab applications are, and help us keep the SHEL LAB family evolving.

What do you wish your lab had?

SHEL LAB Vortex Mixer

Combine a powerful motor for INSTANT vortexing, continuous operation functioning, variable speed control from 200 to 3200 rpms, and a whole lot more, and the result is the new SHEL LAB Vortex Mixer.

With advanced Q-Drive technology, this laboratory Vortex Mixer provides smooth instant vortexing of even the largest sample sizes, including full 50ml tubes. The unique counter balance system creates maximum vortexing action, while minimizing noise and excessive vibration. This results in quieter, more efficient and longer laster operation. “The new VT1000 is a great compliment to our existing line of SHEL LAB baths, incubators, ovens, and anaerobic chambers,” said Vinnie Martorano, “it is all the things a vortex mixer should be, compact, quiet, and powerful enough to do the job.”

Come see us and all of our new units at Pittcon 2011. Visit our Events Page for more details and other industry events we will be attending this year.