The School of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham in the UK has placed a sizeable order with Asynt to upgrade its undergraduate teaching facilities with DrySyn Scholar Plus heating block systems. No financial details have been revealed.
The School’s expertise spans the spectrum of modern chemical technology including synthesis, analysis and characterisation. In 2012 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and The University of Nottingham formalised a collaboration to establish a new laboratory to accommodate a Centre of Excellence for sustainable chemistry, and to construct an innovative carbon neutral sustainable chemistry facility.
David Chambers-Asman, Director of Operations and Administration at the School of Chemistry, said: ‘In line with Nottingham’s commitment to develop ‘green and sustainable’ chemistry methodologies, we wanted to find a safe, more environmentally friendly alternative to heated oil baths for our undergraduates to learn about organic synthesis’.
He said the School elected to invest in Asynt DrySyn Scholar heating block systems because of their robustness, enhanced operator safety features and ease-of-use.
‘As we teach hundreds of students in each year of our undergraduate chemistry courses, using heated oil baths presented a risk to our students (through accidental spillage) and involved periodic requirement to dispose of large quantities of oil – a risk and environmental burden eliminated by using the DrySyn Scholar Plus,’ he said.
The DrySyn Scholar Plus kit enables single 50ml, 100ml or 250ml round bottom flask reactions to be performed safely without the mess or inherent hazards of a hot oil bath or heating mantle.
Asynt says prominent, permanently fixed lifting handles ensure that moving even hot reaction blocks is easy, fast and safe. Compatible with almost any magnetic hotplate stirrer, the low thermal mass design of the DrySyn Scholar minimises both power consumption and reaction heat-up time.
