BOSTON, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

The Anoxomat(TM) Mark II anaerobic system for the cultivation of anaerobic, microaerophilic, and capnophilic bacteria is an excellent alternative to the use of anaerobic chambers and gas bags currently used in clinical laboratories. The Anoxomat Mark II automatic jar evacuation/replacement system is available from Spiral Biotech, Inc., a subsidiary of Advanced Instruments of Norwood, Massachusetts, USA.

"Because of the way the Anoxomat jar works, I can open it up, take out a sample, and make it anaerobic again very fast," said Dr. Hannah Wexler of the VA Wadsworth Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The Anoxomat Mark II creates microaerophilic and anaerobic conditions quickly -- delivering significant advantages for clinical laboratory managers. "Managers report that the Anoxomat delivers significant savings in terms of consumables, time, effort, and money versus anaerobic jars, anaerobic glove cabinets, or CO2 incubators," said Anthony Pappas, National Sales Manager, Advanced Instruments.

Benefits of the Anoxomat Mark II system include:

-- Rapid achievement of anaerobic conditions, reaching anaerobiosis as quickly as one to three minutes as opposed to one to four hours for gas bags, -- Repeatable environmental conditions, with gas mixtures remaining consistent within 0.5 percent of desired values, -- Substantial cost-of-ownership savings versus the expense of consumables, pre-reduced media, and ongoing costs involved with chambers and gas bags, -- "Walk-away convenience" and ease of use due to the Mark II's new, intuitive software and touch-screen interface, -- Automatic quality assurance programming features that ensure an airtight status, warn of pressure leaks, and bind any residual oxygen after evacuation cycling, and -- Unmatched flexibility allowing users to take plates in and out of jars and return to anaerobic environments in minutes rather than hours.

The Anoxomat system is highly efficient and cost effective at cultivating pathogens and attaining growth performance that easily equals or exceeds that of chambers or gas bags.

"The Anoxomat was an easier operation ... on gases alone, in the first year of operation, it probably saved us around US$8,000," said Frank Hollis of Hackensack Medical Center in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Each Anoxomat cycle involves an evacuation phase, followed by replacement using an oxygen-free gas mixture. One cycle achieves 70% to 80% removal of the original atmosphere and gives a microaerophilic environment in one minute. Three cycles achieve an anaerobic atmosphere in less than 3 minutes.

A built-in quality assurance system checks for leaks before incubation. The system also checks whether the catalyst is capable of achieving the desired conditions and warns you if there's a threat of gas failure.

The resulting gas mixture stays well within 0.5% of the desired value. This high precision, combined with the well-known reproducibility of these conditions, gives microbiologists a strong tool to draw accurate conclusions from repeated findings, Pappas said.

The Anoxomat Mark II Anaerobic System is immediately available from Spiral Biotech. For more information, reach Advanced Instruments or Spiral Biotech on the Web at www.aicompanies.com, or by phone at +1-800-554-1620 or +1-781-320-9000.

About Advanced Instruments and Spiral Biotech

Founded in 1955, Advanced Instruments, Inc. is the world's largest supplier of freezing-point osmometers used in clinical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology laboratories. The company is also a leading supplier of analytical instruments and test kits for the food, dairy, and industrial microbiology markets. Based in Norwood, Massachusetts, USA, the company also produces Fiske(R) Associates brand diagnostic instruments and operates Spiral Biotech, Inc., and Delta Instruments as wholly-owned subsidiaries.

For nearly 30 years, Spiral Biotech, Inc. has developed and supported automated microbiology systems for food, dairy, and environmental sciences. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advanced Instruments, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of freezing-point osmometers for clinical and research applications. Visit Spiral Biotech online at www.spiralbiotech.com .

Advanced Instruments' products are supported by a worldwide network of sales professionals and independent distributors. Reach Advanced Instruments online at www.aicompanies.com or contact customer service at +1-800-225-4034 or +1-781-320-9000.

Web site: http://www.aicompanies.com http://www.spiralbiotech.com

Don Goncalves for Advanced Instruments, Inc., +1-781-793-9380, dgoncalves@tizinc.com