Conductus ships first supercon probe

Conductus of Sunnyvale, CA, has made the first commercial shipmentof its SuperProtonnmr high-temperature superconducting probefor NMR spectroscopy. The probe, which is being distributed byVarian Associates as part of its Unity Inova spectrometer system,was shipped to the National High Magnetic Field Lab at FloridaState University in Tallahassee.

SuperProtonnmr uses coils made of the high-temperaturesuperconductor yttrium barium copper oxide (SCAN 4/24/96). Conductusclaims that the probe is four times as sensitive as conventionalNMR probes, allowing the analysis of much smaller samples.

In other Conductus news, the company this month announced adistribution agreement with Nalorac, a Martinez, CA, manufacturerand distributor of NMR probes. The deal will expand the distributioncoverage available for Conductus' high-temperature superconductingprobes, as Nalorac supplies conventional NMR probes to all majorNMR manufacturers.