DU spectrophotometer

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

DU Spectrophotometer, National Technical Laboratories, 1947

The DU spectrophotometer or Beckman DU, introduced in 1941, was the first commercially viable

National Technical Laboratories
(later Beckman Instruments) developed three in-house prototype models (A, B, C) and one limited distribution model (D) before moving to full commercial production with the DU. Approximately 30,000 DU spectrophotometers were manufactured and sold between 1941 and 1976.

Sometimes referred to as a UV–Vis spectrophotometer because it measured both the ultraviolet (UV) and visible spectra, the DU spectrophotometer is credited as being a truly revolutionary technology. It yielded more accurate results than previous methods for determining the chemical composition of a complex substance, and substantially reduced the time needed for an accurate analysis from weeks or hours to minutes. The Beckman DU was essential to several critical secret research projects during World War II, including the development of penicillin and synthetic rubber.

Background

Before the development of the DU spectrophotometer, analysis of a test sample to determine its components was a long, costly, and often inaccurate process. A classical

dissolutions.[2]: 150 [3] Determination of the concentrations of known impurities in a known inorganic substance such as molten iron could be done in under thirty minutes.[2]: 26  The determination of complex organic structures such as chlorophyll using wet and dry methods could take decades.[4]
: 59–60 

Spectroscopic methods for observing the absorption of electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum were known as early as the 1860s.[4]: 65 [5]: 5  Scientists had observed that light traveling through a

absorption spectrum would differ depending upon the atomic and molecular composition if the material involved.[6][7][8]

Spectroscopic methods were predominantly used by

astrophysicists. Spectroscopic techniques were rarely taught in chemistry classes and were unfamiliar to most practicing chemists. Beginning around 1904, Frank Twyman
of the London instrument making firm Adam Hilger, Ltd. tried to develop spectroscopic instruments for chemists, but his customer base was consistently made up of physicists rather than chemists. [9]: 113–118  By the 1930s he had developed a niche market in metallurgy, where his instruments were well adapted to the types of problems that chemists were solving.[9]: 124 

By the 1940s, both academic and industrial chemists were becoming increasingly interested in problems involving the composition and detection of

nucleic acids, absorb light energy in both the ultraviolet and visible range.[10] The spectrum of visible light was not broad enough to enable scientists to examine substances such as vitamin A.[11] Accurate characterization of complex samples, particularly of biological materials, would require the accurate reading of absorption frequencies in the ultraviolet and infrared (IR) sections of the spectrum in addition to visible light. Existing instruments such as the Cenco "Spectrophotelometer" and the Coleman Model DM Spectrophotometer could not be effectively used to examine wavelengths in the ultraviolet range.[11][12]

The array of equipment needed to measure light energy reaching beyond the visible spectrum towards the ultraviolet could cost a laboratory as much as $3,000, a huge amount in 1940.

photographic plates showing the absorption spectrum of a material at different wavelengths. An experienced human could compare these to the known images to identify a match. Then information from the plates had to be combined to create a graph showing the spectrum as a whole. Ultimately, the accuracy of such approaches was dependent on accurate, consistent development of the photographic plates, and on human visual acuity and practice in reading the wavelengths.[2]
: 150–151 

Development

The DU was developed at National Technical Laboratories (later

Arnold Orville Beckman, an American chemist and inventor.[13][14] Beginning in 1940, National Technical Laboratories developed three in-house prototype models (A, B, C) and one limited distribution model (D) before moving to full commercial production with the DU in 1941.[5]: 6  Beckman's research team was led by Howard Cary, who went on to co-found Applied Physics Corporation (later Cary Instruments) which became one of Beckman Instruments' strongest competitors.[15] Other scientists included Roland Hawes and Kenyon George.[16]

Coleman Instruments had recently coupled a pH meter with an optical phototube unit to examine the visual spectrum (the Coleman Model DM).[10] Beckman had already developed a successful pH meter for measuring acidity of solutions, his company's breakthrough product. Seeing the potential to build upon their existing expertise, Beckman made it a goal to create an easy-to-use integrated instrument which would both register and report specific wavelengths extending into the ultraviolet range. Rather than depending on development of photographic plates, or a human observer's visual ability to detect wavelengths in the absorption spectrum, phototubes would be used to register and report the specific wavelengths that were detected. This had the potential to increase the instrument's accuracy and reliability as well as its speed and ease of use.[2]: 149–151 

Model A (prototype)

The first prototype Beckman spectrophotometer, the Model A, was created at National Technologies Laboratories in 1940. It used a

headlamps.[17]: 17  An external amplifier from the Beckman pH meter and a vacuum tube photocell were used to detect wavelengths.[17]
: 16 

Model B (prototype)

Optical quality quartz crystals

It was quickly realized that a glass dispersive prism was not suitable for use in the ultraviolet spectrum.[2]: 153 [17]: 16  Glass absorbed electromagnetic radiation below 400 millimicrons rather than dispersing it.[20] In the Model B, a quartz prism was substituted for the earlier glass.[2]: 153 [17]: 16 

A tangent bar mechanism was used to adjust the monochromator. The mechanism was highly sensitive and required a skilled operator.[17]: 16  Only two Model B prototypes were made. One was sold: in February 1941, to the University of California Chemistry department in Los Angeles.[2]: 153 

The Model B prototype should be distinguished from a later production model of spectrophotometer that was also referred to as the Model "B". The production Model "B" was introduced in 1949 as a less-expensive, simple-to-use alternative to the Beckman DU.[21] It used a glass Fery prism as a chromator and operated in a narrower range, roughly from 320 millimicrons to 950 millimicrons, and 5 to 20 Å.[22]: 183–184 [23][24][25]

Model C (prototype)

Three Model C instruments were then built, improving the instrument's wavelength resolution. The Model B's rotary cell compartment was replaced with a linear sample chamber. The tangent bar mechanism was replaced by a scroll drive mechanism,

Caltech and the other two to companies in the food industry.[2]
: 153 

Model D (limited production)

Quartz photoelectric spectrophotometer, Cary & Beckman, 1941[26]: 687 

The A, B, and C prototype models all coupled an external Beckman pH meter to the optical component to obtain readouts. In developing the Model D, Beckman took the direct-coupled amplifier circuit from the pH meter and combined the optical and electronic components in a single housing, making it more economical.[10]

Moving from a prototype to production of the Model D involved challenges. Beckman originally approached

Bausch and Lomb about making quartz prisms for the spectrophotometer. When they turned down the opportunity, National Technical Laboratories designed its own optical system, including both a control mechanism and a quartz prism. Large, high optical quality quartz suitable for creating prisms was difficult to obtain. It came from Brazil, and was in demand for wartime radio oscillators. Beckman had to obtain a wartime priority listing for the spectrophotometer to get access to suitable quartz supplies.[17]
: 17 

Beckman had previously attempted to find a source of reliable hydrogen lamps, seeking better sensitivity to wavelengths in the ultraviolet range than was possible with tungsten. As described in July 1941, the Beckman spectrophotometer could use a "hot cathode hydrogen discharge tube" or a tungsten light source interchangeably.[26]: 684–685  However, Beckman was still unsatisfied with the available hydrogen lamps. National Technical Laboratories designed its own hydrogen lamp, an anode enclosed in a thin blown-glass window.[17]: 17  By December 1941, the in-house design was being used in production of the Model D.[2]: 154–155 

The instrument's design also required a more sensitive phototube than was commercially available at that time. Beckman was able to obtain small batches of an experimental phototube from RCA for the first Model D instruments.[17]: 17 

The Model D spectrophotometer, using the experimental RCA phototube, was shown at

self-collimating quartz Fery prism, a mirror-collimated quartz Littrow prism, and various gratings.[26]: 683  The Littrow prism was a half-prism, which had a mirrored back face, so that the light went through the front face twice.[18][27]: 31–34  Use of a tungsten light source with the quartz Littrow prism as a monochromator was reported to minimize light scattering within the instrument.[26]
: 686 

The Model D was the first model to enter actual production. A small number of Model D instruments were sold, beginning in July 1941, before it was superseded by the DU.[2]: 153–155 [17]: 17–18 

Model DU

Disassembled absorption cell and photo-tube compartment, Cary & Beckman, 1941[26]: 687 

When RCA could not meet Beckman's demand for experimental phototubes, National Technical Laboratories again had to design its own components in-house.[17]: 18  They developed a pair of phototubes, sensitive to the red and blue areas of the spectrum, capable of amplifying the signals they received.[28]: 230  With the incorporation of Beckman's UV-sensitive phototubes, the Model D became the Model DU UV–Vis spectrophotometer.[17]: 18  Its designation as a "UV–Vis" spectrophotometer indicates its ability to measure light in both the visible and ultraviolet spectra.[29]

The DU was the first commercially viable scientific instrument for measuring the amount of ultraviolet light absorbed by a substance.[2]: 148  [5]: 10  As he had done with the pH meter, Beckman had replaced an array of complicated equipment with a single, easy-to-use instrument. One of the first fully integrated instruments[17]: 11  or "black boxes" used in modern chemical laboratories,[30] it sold for $723 in 1941.[12]

It is generally assumed that the "DU" in the name was a combination of "D" for the Model D on which it was based, and "U" for the ultraviolet spectrum. However, it has been suggested that "DU" may also reference Beckman's fraternity at the University of Illinois, Delta Upsilon, whose members were called "DU"s.[31]

A publication in the scholarly literature compared the optical quality of the DU to the Cary 14 Spectrophotometer, another leading UV–Vis spectrophotometer of the time.[32]

Design

Model DU spectrophotometer – exploded view, Beckman manual, 1954


From 1941 until 1976, when it was discontinued, the Model DU spectrophotometer was built upon what was essentially the same design.[12] It was a single beam instrument.[16]: 11 [33] The DU spectrophotometers used a quartz prism to separate light from a lamp into its absorption spectrum and a phototube to electrically measure the light energy across the spectrum. This allowed the user to plot the light absorption spectrum of a substance to obtain a standardized "fingerprint" characteristic of a compound.[2]: 151  [34][35] All modern UV–Vis spectrophotometer are built on the same basic principles as the DU spectrophotometer.[29]


Diagram of Model DU optical system, Beckman manual, 1954

"Light from the tungsten lamp is focused by the condensing mirror and directed in a beam to the diagonal slit entrance mirror. The entrance mirror deflects the light through the entrance slit and into the monochromator to the collimating mirror. Light falling on the collimating mirror is rendered parallel and reflected to the quartz prism where it undergoes refraction. The back surface of the prism is aluminized so that light refracted at the first surface is reflected back through the prism, undergoing further refraction as it emerges from the prism. The desired wavelength of light is selected by rotating the Wavelength Selector which adjusts the position of the prism. The spectrum is directed back to the collimating mirror which centers the chosen wavelength on the exit slit and sample. Light passing through the sample strikes the phototube, causing a current gain. The current gain is amplified and registered on the null meter." Model DU Optical System[36]: 3 

Although the default light source for the instrument was tungsten, a hydrogen or mercury lamp could be substituted depending on the optimal range of measurement for which the instrument was to be used.[36] : 3  The tungsten lamp was suitable for transmittance of wavelengths between 320 and 1000 millimicrons; the hydrogen lamp for 220 to 320 millimicrons, and the mercury lamp for checking the calibration of the spectrophotometer.[36]: 6 


Minimum spectral band widths, Cary & Beckman, 1941

As advertised in the 1941 News Edition of the American Chemical Society, the Beckman Spectrophotometer used an autocollimating quartz crystal prism for a monochromator, capable of covering a range from the ultraviolet (200 millimicrons) to the infrared (2000 millimicrons), with a nominal bandwidth of 2 millimicrons or less for most of its spectral range. The slit mechanism was continuously adjustable from .01 to 2.0 mm and claimed to have less than 1/10% of stray light over most of the spectral range. It featured an easy-to-read wavelength scale, simultaneously reporting % Transmission and Density information.[37]

The sample holder held up to 4 cells.

Beer's law. This makes possible the quantitative determination of the amount of a substance in solution.[38]

The user could also switch between phototubes without removing the sample holder. A 1941 advertisement indicates that three types of phototubes were available, with maximum sensitivity to red, blue and ultraviolet light ranges.[37]

The 1954 DU spectrophotometer differs in that it claims to be useful from 200 to 1000 millimicrons,[36]: 2  and does not mention the ultraviolet phototube.[36]: 3  The wavelength selector, however, still ranged from 200 to 2000 millimicrons.[36]: 4  and an "Ultraviolet accessory set" was available.[36]: 25  This shift away from using the DU for infrared measurement is understandable, since by 1954 Beckman Instruments was marketing a separate infrared spectrophotometer. Beckman developed the IR-1 infrared spectrophotometer during World War II, and redesigned it as the IR-4 between 1953 and 1956.[2]: 165 [39]: 6–7 

Use

Beckman DU spectrophotometer in use

The Beckman spectrophotometer was the first easy-to-use single instrument containing both the optical and electronic components needed for ultraviolet-absorption spectrophotometry within a single housing.[2]: 153  The user could insert a cell tray with standard and sample cells, dial up the desired wavelength of light, confirm that the instrument was properly set by measuring the standard, and then measure the amount of absorption of the sample, reading the frequency from a simple meter.[40] A series of readings at different wavelengths could be taken without disturbing the sample.[41] The DU spectrophotometer's manual scanning method was extremely fast, reducing analysis times from weeks or hours to minutes.[39]: 6  [42] [43]

It was accurate in both the visible and ultraviolet ranges.[29] Working in both the ultraviolet and the visible regions of the spectrum, the model DU produced accurate absorption spectra which could be obtained with relative ease and accurately replicated.

National Bureau of Standards ran tests to certify that the DU's results were accurate and repeatable and recommended its use.[2]
: 156 

Other advantages included its high resolution and the minimization of stray light in the ultraviolet region.[12] Although it was not cheap, its initial price of $723[12] made it available to the average laboratory.[44]: 501  In comparison, in 1943, the GE Hardy Spectrophotometer cost $6,400.[39]: 6  Practical and reliable, the DU rapidly established itself as a standard for laboratory equipment.[35]: 141 

Impact

World War II poster encouraged researchers to "Give this job Everything You've got"

Credited with having "brought about a breakthrough in optical spectroscopy",

Model T of laboratory instruments".[12] Approximately 30,000 DU spectrophotometers were manufactured and sold between 1941 and 1976.[5]: 11 [45]

The DU enabled researchers to perform easier analysis of substances by quickly taking measurements at more than one wavelength to produce an absorption spectrum describing the complete substance. For example, the standard method of analysis of the vitamin A content of shark liver oil, before the introduction of the DU spectrophotometer, involved feeding the oil to rats for 21 days, then cutting off the rats' tails and examining their bone structure. With the DU's UV technology, vitamin A content of shark liver oil could be determined directly in a matter of minutes.[39]: 6 

The Scripps Research Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology credit the DU with improving both accuracy and speed of chemical analysis. MIT states: "This device forever simplified and streamlined chemical analysis, by allowing researchers to perform a 99.9% accurate quantitative measurement of a substance within minutes, as opposed to the weeks required previously for results of only 25% accuracy."[42][43]

Inorganic chemist and philosopher of science

bioscience."[12] Historian of science Peter J. T. Morris identifies the introduction of the DU and other scientific instruments in the 1940s as the beginning of a Kuhnian revolution.[4]
: 80 

For the Beckman company, the DU was one of three foundational inventions – the pH meter, the DU spectrophotometer, and the helipot potentiometer – that established the company on a secure financial basis and enabled it to expand.[47]

Vitamins

Development of the spectrophotometer had direct relevance to World War II and the American war effort. The role of vitamins in health was of significant concern, as scientists wanted to identify

carotenoids,[49] and rapidly became the preferred method of spectrophotometric analysis.[11][50][51]

Penicillin

The DU spectrophotometer was also an important tool for scientists studying and producing the new wonder drug penicillin.[10] The development of penicillin was a secret national mission, involving 17 drug companies, with the goal of providing penicillin to all U.S. Forces engaged in World War II.

sulfa drugs,[52]: 312  and that its use reduced mortality, severity of long-term wound trauma, and recovery time.[2]: 158  However, its structure was not understood, isolation procedures used to create pure cultures were primitive, and production using known surface culture techniques was slow.[52]
: 312 

At

Andrew Moyer, Mary Hunt,[55][56][57] Frank H. Stodola and Morris E. Friedkin. Friedkin recalls that an early model of the Beckman DU spectrophotometer was used by the penicillin researchers in Peoria.[52]: 316  The Peoria lab was successful in isolating and commercially producing superior strains of the mold, which were 200 times more effective than the original forms discovered by Alexander Fleming.[55] By the end of the war, American pharmaceutical companies were producing 650 billion units of penicillin each month.[55] Much of the work done in this area during World War II was kept secret until after the war.[2]: 158 [53]

Hydrocarbons

The DU spectrophotometer was also used for critical analysis of

hydrocarbons, particularly for applications in petroleum refining and gasoline production.[2]: 159 [4]
: 17 

Enzyme assays and DNA research

blood glucose to glycogen. Gerty Cori was also the first to show that a defect in an enzyme can be the cause of a human genetic disease.[60] The Beckman DU spectrophotometer was used in the Cori laboratory to calculate enzyme concentrations, including phosphorylase.[61]

Another researcher who spent six months in 1947 at the Cori laboratory, "the most vibrant place in biochemistry" at that time, was Arthur Kornberg.[62] Kornberg was already familiar with the DU spectrophotometer, which he had used at Severo Ochoa's laboratory at New York University. The "new and scarce" Beckman DU, loaned to Ochoa by the American Philosophical Society, was highly prized and in constant use. Kornberg used it to purify aconitase, an enzyme in the citric acid cycle.[62][63]

"The enzyme could be assayed in a few minutes by coupling it to isocitrate dehydrogenase and in measuring the NADH formed using the Beckman DU spectrophotometer, an instrument that transformed biochemistry."[63]: 113 

Kornberg and

nucleotides. This work became one of the most cited papers in biochemistry.[63]: 115  Kornberg went on to study nucleotides in DNA synthesis, isolating the first DNA polymerizing enzyme (DNA polymerase I) in 1956 and receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Severo Ochoa in 1959.[64]

The bases of DNA absorbed ultraviolet light near 260 nm.

James D. Watson, discussing his findings with them. Watson and Crick built upon his ideas in their determination of the structure of DNA.[67]

Biotechnology

Ultraviolet spectroscopy has wide applicability in molecular biology, particularly the study of photosynthesis.[68] It has been used to study a wide variety of flowering plants and ferns[69] by researchers in departments of biology, plant physiology and agriculture science as well as molecular genetics.[70]

Particularly useful in detecting conjugated double bonds, the new technology made it possible for researchers like

corticosteroids.[75]

Later models

Beckman Model DK1 Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer

The Beckman team eventually developed additional models, as well as a number of accessories or attachments which could be used to modify the DU for different types of work. One of the first accessories was a flame attachment with a more powerful photo multiplier to enable the user to examine flames such as

cesium (1947).[16]: 11 [28]
: 230 

In the 1950s, Beckman Instruments developed the DR and the DK, both of which were double-beam ultraviolet spectrophotometers. The DK was named for

Eastman Kodak, and later was hired by Beckman Instruments.[76] The DKs introduced an automatic recording feature. The DK-1 used a non-linear scroll, and the DK-2 used a linear scroll to automatically record the spectra.[76]
: 21 

The DR incorporated a "robot operator" which would reset the knobs on the DU to complete a sequence of measurements at different wavelengths, just like a human operator would to generate results for a full spectrum. It used a linear shuttle with four positions, and a superstructure to change the knobs. It had a moving chart recorder to plot results, with red, green and black dots.[16] The price of recording spectrophotometers was substantially higher than non-recording machines.[72]

The DK was ten times faster than the DR, but not quite as accurate.[16] It used a photomultiplier, which had introduced a source of error.[76]: 21  The DK's speed made it preferred to the DR.[16] Kaye eventually developed the DKU, combining infrared and ultraviolet features in one instrument, but it was more expensive than other models.[76]

The last DU spectrophotometer was produced on July 6, 1976.[77] By the 1980s, computers were being incorporated into scientific instruments such as Bausch & Lomb's Spectronic 2000 UV–Vis spectrophotometer, to improve data acquisition and provide instrument control.[29] Specialized spectrophotometers designed for specific tasks now tend to be used rather than general "all-purpose machines" like the DU.[5]: 1 [78]

References

  1. . Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. ^ .
  3. ^ Braun, Robert Denton (2016). "Chemical analysis". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ . Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Experiment 10" (PDF). MMSU Physics and Astronomy Department. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  7. .
  8. .
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ a b c d e f Smutzer, Gregory (October 15, 2001). "Spectrophotometers: An Absorbing Tale". The Scientist. Retrieved 6 March 2014. The DU spectrophotometer was extensively used in the mass production of penicillin.
  11. ^
    PMID 9105273. Archived from the original
    on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016. The DU met a need and was an immediate success. It remained unsurpassed in its field for 35 years.
  12. ^ . Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  13. .
  14. OCLC 899243886. Retrieved 6 February 2018. Links on landing page go to full documents. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help
    )
  15. ^ Martelle, Scott (April 2, 2000). "During a Remarkable Century of Research, Innovation and Creative Tinkering, Visionary Arnold Beckman Seldom Found a Problem He Couldn't Solve. Until Now". LA Times. p. 4. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  16. ^
    Chemical Heritage Foundation
    .
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Belser, Karl Arnold. "Arnold Orville Beckman" (PDF). Karl Belser. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 September 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  18. ^ . Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  19. .
  20. . Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  21. ^ "TheSpectrophotometers That Would Not Die" (PDF). Caltech. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  22. . Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  23. . Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  24. .
  25. .
  26. ^ .
  27. ^ . Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  28. ^ . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  29. ^ a b c d Buie, John (July 13, 2011). "Evolution of UV–Vis Spectrophotometers" (PDF). Lab Manager. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  30. ^ "Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body". National Institutes of Health. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  31. ^ "Beckman Model DU Quartz Spectrophotometer". Illinois Simulator Laboratory. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  32. .
  33. . Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  34. ^ Jarnutowski, R.; Ferraro, J. R.; Lankin, D. C. (1992). "Fifty years of commercial instrumentation in absorption spectroscopy, part II. Landmark instruments in UV/vis". Spectroscopy. 7: 22–24, 26.
  35. ^ . Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beckman Instruments Instruction Manual : The Beckman Model DU Spectrophotometer and Accessories. Fullerton, CA: Beckman Instruments, Inc. 1954.
  37. ^ a b c "Announcing an Important New Beckman Development THE BECKMAN Spectrophotometer". News Edition of the American Chemical Society. American Chemical Society. September 25, 1941. p. NA.
  38. . Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  39. ^ a b c d Pillsbury, Dale (November 2011). "Too Bad Indy – You Were Born Too Early (Or Perhaps Arnold Beckman was Born Too Late)" (PDF). The Alembic. 38 (3): 6. Retrieved 29 August 2016. conventional analysis for vitamin A content required analyzing the bone structure of the tails of rats fed oil for 21 days, while the Beckman DU with its UV capability was able to give a much more precise measurement of vitamin A content in just a few minutes.
  40. ^ Harrison, George R.; Lord, Richard C.; Loofbourow, John R. (1948). Practical spectroscopy. New York: Prentice-Hall. pp. 400–402. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  41. ^ a b "Beckman DU Spectrophotometer". National Museum of American History. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  42. ^ a b "In Memoriam: Arnold O. Beckman (1900–2004)". News and Views. 4 (18). May 24, 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2016. The spectrophotometer improved biological assays from a process that took weeks and achieved 25 percent accuracy to one that took minutes and achieved 99.9 percent precision. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  43. ^ a b "Arnold O. Beckman". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014. This device forever simplified and streamlined chemical analysis, by allowing researchers to perform a 99.9% accurate quantitative measurement of a substance within minutes, as opposed to the weeks required previously for results of only 25% accuracy.
  44. .
  45. ^ Browne, Malcolm W. (November 10, 1987). "After Decades, Inventor's Work Is Still Felt in the Laboratory". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  46. .
  47. ^ "Our History". Beckman Coulter. Retrieved 6 September 2016.[permanent dead link]
  48. ^ Mark, Andrew (September 21, 2007). "Leading the way in chemical instrumentation". Laboratory News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  49. . Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  50. . Retrieved 14 March 2016. ... nowadays the preference is generally for the much easier and more precise measurement by a spectrophotometer, e.g. of the Beckman DU type ...
  51. . Retrieved 17 March 2016. In 1941, they started selling the Beckman DU spectrophotometer which was a workhorse in countless laboratories for decades.
  52. ^ . The research was part of a national mission: to make penicillin available to all of our forces and by secrecy to prevent its use by Germany and Japan. Within a year, 17 drug companies were working on penicillin.
  53. ^ . The drug exceeded all expectations, but the public were not told since penicillin was classified as a US military secret.
  54. ^ Klaus, Abby. "Penicillin: "The Miracle Drug"" (PDF). Illinois Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  55. ^ a b c Markel, Howard (2013-09-27). "The Real Story Behind Penicillin". September 27, 2013. PBS Newshour. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  56. ^ Kelly, Norman V. (April 20, 2013). "We called her 'Moldy Mary'". Peoria Historian. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  57. ^ "Our View: Penicillin: Another bit of area history deserving notice". Journal Star. October 7, 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  58. . Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  59. on February 4, 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  60. ^ Smeltzer, Ronald K. (2013). Extraordinary Women in Science & Medicine: Four Centuries of Achievement. The Grolier Club.
  61. PMID 16590054
    .
  62. ^ . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  63. ^ .
  64. ^ Kresge, Nicole; Simoni, Robert D.; Hill, Robert L. (2005). "Arthur Kornberg's Discovery of DNA Polymerase I". J. Biol. Chem. 280 (46). Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  65. PMID 19871359
    .
  66. . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  67. ^ .
  68. .
  69. .
  70. . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  71. . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  72. ^ . Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  73. . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  74. . Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  75. ^ Pollack, Andrew (March 6, 2014). "Alejandro Zaffaroni, Entrepreneur on Biotech Frontier, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  76. ^
    Chemical Heritage Foundation
    .
  77. .
  78. ^ Beck, Shane (February 2, 1998). "Across the Spectrum: Instrumentation for UV/Vis Spectrophotometry". The Scientist. Retrieved 9 September 2016.

External links