Anasys Instruments
has won the prestigious R+D 100 award for its new VESTA product, a tool which
revolutionizes thermal analysis with its ability to perform “point &
click” micro and nano thermal analysis at the push of a button. A panel
of industry experts appointed by R&D magazine announced the VESTA “…as
one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the
marketplace over the past year.”
The VESTA is a localized thermal analysis product which enables customers to
obtain phase transition temperatures with micro- and nanoscale resolution. This
compares to the sample-averaged information that may be obtained using traditional
bulk thermal analysis tools. Comments from around the world reinforce the value
of the VESTA system. Dr. Peter Shang is Head of Thermal Property Characterization
at Eastman Chemical’s Corporate Analytical Service Laboratory. “As
users of the Anasys nano-TA product, we have seen the benefits of localized
thermal measurements. However, this uses an AFM platform which is not as common
or as easy to use for those in the bulk thermal analysis community. The VESTA
provides an easy to use platform for non-AFM users to benefit from localized
thermal analysis.”
In Japan, Nissan’s Dr Jiping Ye, Head of Materials Science Characterization
at their Analytical Research Center in Yokosuka, says “VESTA is the first
tool to enable bulk thermal analysis users to make localized thermal property
measurements with ease of use through push-button control.”
The academic community also sees advantages for VESTA. Professor Duncan Craig,
Head of Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia, UK, sees it as a fundamental
breakthrough. “Anasys has engineered a thermal probe-based metrology tool
which uses an optical microscope platform instead of an AFM. This makes VESTA
very easy to use and removes the major obstacle to the adoption of localized
thermal analysis in the pharmaceutical sector.”
With applications for polymer and pharmaceutical researchers, VESTA is the
only solution to provide sub-micron scale localized thermal analysis.
This is the second R&D100 award for Anasys who received one in 2007 for
their breakthrough nano-TA product.