Philadelphia Pennsylvania is a city rich with historical importance – the liberty bell, independence hall, and other signatures of revolutionary significance.

It was also the site for the Pittcon Conference and Expo this year – an annual landmark and up-to-the-minute resource for the latest in the scientific technologies and instrumentation.

Pittcon History and Perspective

Pittcon has evolved over the years to become a preeminent event for science attendees and exhibitors alike. Similar to Pittcon’s roots as a convergence of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP) and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), the annual conference brings together academic, industry, and government lab professionals from over 90 countries. In essence, the meeting is a must for anyone who identifies, quantifies, analyzes, or tests the chemical or biological properties of compounds or molecules, or those who manage these scientists.

2019 Pittcon Expo

Pittcon is a comprehensive event to learn about not only high-tech research and discovery, but the products and instruments that are leading the way in advancing science. Here is a snapshot of exhibitors in attendance this year.

LECO, as a diversified instrument provider, serves many industries in-line with Pittcon’s reach and beyond. The life sciences, environment and agriculture, food science, and energy and fuels all factor into the broad portfolio of products and instrumentation.

• Release of the Pegasus line of gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometers (GC-TOFMS) has brought high-sensitivity and accuracy multi-dimensional analysis to the forefront of separations science.
• Two-dimensional GCxGC permits interrogation of multiple analyte classes in a single analysis, saving valuable instrument time and resources – with the benefits of enhanced non-target screening and complex metabolomics applications.
• The TOFMS interface permits end-to-end sample characterization with versatility, sensitivity, and durability required for advanced operations.

LabX listings

LECO website

Horiba is known for their advanced fluorescence technology and one of the latest instruments, the Duetta, won Gold in the Pittcon Excellence awards last time around.

• The Duetta fluorescence and absorbance spectrometer performs non-destructive, non-contact analysis and quantification of object substances.
• Essentially two instruments in one, the Duetta combines versatility, performance, and efficiency for characterization across multiple disciplines.

LabX listings

Horiba website 

Hamilton is well-known for superior products and technologies spanning the worlds of automated liquid handling, sample storage systems, small devices, consumables, and more.

• The Hamilton product portfolio includes a wide range of HPLC columns, separations media, and hardware, and associated offerings.
• Recent additions include the polymeric-based support columns, PRP-1, PRP-3, PRP-h5, and PRP-C18.
• These advanced polymer separations products all possess unique chemistries and selectivities, and have advantages over silica-based supports for select applications. 
• The PRP-C18, as detailed, has superior performance, compared with traditional supports, for the enrichment of high-yield synthetic oligonucleotides.

LabX listings

Hamilton website 

Metrohm products range from titration, pH/ion conductivity devices, to spectroscopy and electrochemistry instruments.

• Among the new offerings is the OMNIS Karl Fischer titration system, an innovation in safety and efficiency for volumetric analysis.

LabX listings

Metrohm website

ABB Analytical products and applications extend from power generation and industrial automation to the life sciences and associated fields including food and beverage testing.

• Life Sciences ABB automation systems serve bioprocessing and process analytical technologies such pharmaceutical testing and analysis, as well as a host of other areas.
• Gas chromatographs, spectrophotometers, mass spectrometers, and other instrumentation are all part of the ABB portfolio

LabX listings

ABB website

Anton Paar brings a diverse collection of instrument solutions to Pittcon.

• From atomic force microscopes, to refractometers and FTIR-spectrometers, the company is well represented and aligned with the range of technologies on display at the conference.

LabX listings

Anton Paar website

Of course, quality refurbished and used analytical equipment vendors showed a strong presence as well.

Gentech

LabX listings

GenTech website

IET

LabX listings

IET website

2019 Pittcon Today Excellence Awards

The Pittcon conference, along with certain corporate sponsors, also hosts a variety of awards competitions for research achievement, product innovation, and potential commercial impact, among other accolades.

A favorite of ours is the Pittcon Today Excellence Awards, which is conducted by and judged by members of the media.

As discussed in our review of the 2018 Pittcon conference, last year’s winners represented an eclectric group of lab innovations in product design and instrumentation.

This year definitely delivered, and nominees even included a wider presence of data management and software solutions – keeping pace with the evolution of smart technologies and laboratory operations of the future.