Free linux crystallography

Bruker AXS Launches Its Complete New X8 Product Line for Life Science Applications at IUCr-Conference in Geneva, Switzerland

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

MADISON, Wis.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 7, 2002

Bruker AXS Inc. (Nasdaq:BAXS), a leading global provider of advanced X-ray solutions for the life and advanced materials sciences, today announced that it has launched an entire new product line for life science applications, named the X8 series.

"The new products are a result of the joint R&D and marketing activities Bruker AXS has undertaken after the acquisition of Nonius in April 2001," commented Lieuwe Boskma, VP Crystallography Solutions. "They combine the best technologies of Bruker AXS and Nonius, and are geared towards providing complete solutions, especially for the High-Throughput Structural Proteomics market. It is our goal to become a leading supplier of both screening and research instrumentation. The new products are using latest technologies and offer a high degree of automation. Release of this X8 series is a first major step onto this path."

"I am really pleased to see that within one year after the acquisition of Nonius our combined efforts in R&D and marketing have resulted in an exciting line of new products addressing the needs of our target markets in the X-ray Crystallography," added Martin Haase, President and CEO. "These new product introductions will further fuel our growth in this attractive market segment. We will continue with our current pace of innovation following our complete solutions philosophy and provide our customers with easy to use and reliable products for their demanding applications."

X8PROTEUM FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT STRUCTURAL PROTEOMICS AND SCREENING

The X8PROTEUM(TM) is introduced as the top-of-the-line instrument for structural bio-molecular research in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and for fundamental structural biology research. It combines the most sensitive PROTEUM CCD detector with the extremely versatile kappa Goniometer and therefore allows for efficient sample screening and collecting highly redundant data-sets, enhancing in-house laboratory capabilities and reducing the need for data collection at synchrotron sites.

X8APEX FOR SMALL MOLECULE STRUCTURE RESEARCH

The X8APEX(TM) is designed for structure-based drug design in the pharmaceutical industry and for fundamental research in chemistry, mineralogy and physics, integrating the most sensitive APEX CCD detector for molybdenum wavelengths with the highly appreciated Kappa Goniometer. This provides highest speed and throughput while also offering a high degree of flexibility to address the various demands of our customers in industry and academia.

BruNo - FIRST EASY-TO-USE CRYOGENIC SAMPLE ROBOT

Sample changing of single crystals, manual until very recently, has been automated by introduction of the BruNo robotics system that takes the cryo-cooled protein sample from a liquid-nitrogen storage dewar and mounts it on the goniometer, then retrieves it for further experiments. For this procedure, patented Kryo-Vials(TM) are used to transport the crystals to and from the storage dewar at liquid-nitrogen temperatures, yet do away with the liquid itself, assuring a straightforward and much safer sample handling. Compared to the time-consuming manual sample mounting, BruNo will speed up preparation by an order of magnitude.

PROTEUM & APEX- NEXT GENERATION OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY SOFTWARE FOR DATA ACQUISITION AND STRUCTURE ANALYSIS

A new generation of highly intuitive software is simultaneously launched, running on either LINUX or WINDOWS. It will enable the novice to control the system to full extent, yet allow experts to take full advantage of all features, including comprehensive support of twinned samples, enhanced 2D & 3D visualisation, precession photographs, XML and LIMS compatibility for trouble-free bio-informatics, FFT indexing from single exposures and an automatic strategy organizer.

About Bruker AXS

Bruker AXS is a leading developer and provider of life science and advanced materials research tools based on X-ray technology. The company develops, manufactures and markets worldwide advanced X-ray solutions for the three-dimensional structure determination of biological and chemical compounds, as well as for advanced materials research and analysis. Its diverse customer base includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, advanced materials, semiconductor, synthetic polymer, and basic materials companies, as well as university and government research customers. Applications include x-ray crystallography for structural proteomics, and automated systems for combinatorial materials sciences. Bruker AXS has the most diverse set of x-ray technology platforms for molecular and materials analysis.

Safe-Harbor Statement

Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty that exist in the Company's operations and business environment. Such statements are predictions only and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect actual events or results include risks associated with performance under the Company's agreements with third parties, research and development progress, competitive products and the strength of the Company's patent portfolio.