If you have any questions regarding ZP please don't hesitate to contact us.

Zimmer and Peacock will be exhibiting for the third time in a row at Tri-Con this year. Please come and meet us there.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP – Bio-sensing Technology Malaysia

Zimmer and Peacock is exhibiting at Bio-Sensing Technology in Kuala Lumpa Malaysia 2019.

About the conference – 

Bio-sensing technologies are of growing importance in healthcare, agri-food, environmental and security sectors, and this is reflected in the continued growth of global markets for such technologies. Connectivity with the wider-world through the internet and the demand for data to drive big-data applications are other important drivers of bios-sensing technology development. This conference will provide a forum for accessing the most up-to-date and authoritative knowledge from both commercial and academic worlds, sharing best practice in the field as well as learning about case studies of successfully integrated bio-sensing technologies.

This year the conference will have one theme dedicated to bio-sensing technology for the internet-of-things and a post conference meeting with a particular focus on applications addressing challenges in telehealth and diagnostic. 

ZP launches new website for 2019.

Zimmer and Peacock has undergone substantial growth in 2018 and in preparation for further growth in 2019 we have launched our new website.

Using field data to refine and finish your sensor biosensor and medical diagnostic

ZP is a world leading contract developer of sensors, biosensors and IVDs. In this note we discuss a strategy ZP can use on your programs to accelerate the time it takes to get to to market. The strategy discussed on our website here works in a number of businesses and technical scenarios, including where the strategy is to perform a 510 K submission.

How to characterise a continuous glucose measuring sensor

At Zimmer and Peacock we have a number of biosensors suitable or adaptable for continuous monitoring, including: continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), continuous lactate monitoring (CLM), potassium monitoring, sodium monitoring, sweat monitoring and hydration monitoring. 

In these notes on our website we start a discussion on how ZP characterises such sensors, we specifically use the example of glucose, though the technique can be extended to other analytes.

For this strategy to work we do need three pieces in place, these are: 

ONE - There is an existing 'gold standard'/predicative device or assay available. 

TWO - Ideally ZP should have developed or supplied your initial sensors and  electronics; the reasons why this is important is that we will programme the electronics to analyse the sample with several electrochemical waveforms. The strategy is based on the fact that there are multiple ways of extracting an electrochemical signal for an analyte,  and so to maximise the effectiveness of the Training Phase we will over analyse the sample with multiple techniques and gather all the data. The more data we gather than the higher the probability of success when we mine the data for the analyte signal later.

THREE - We will require authentic real world samples , be it urine, blood, red wine etc. The samples should  cover a range of analyte concentrations, with the analyte of interest being present in the samples from a  low concentration through to a high concentrations.

At Zimmer and Peacock we have a number of biosensors suitable or adaptable for continuous monitoring, including: continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), continuous lactate monitoring (CLM), potassium monitoring, sodium monitoring, sweat monitoring and hydration monitoring. 

In the notes below we start a discussion on how ZP characterises such sensors, we specifically use the example of glucose, though the technique can be extended to other analytes.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP - Sponsers BioEl 2019

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leading contract biosensor and medical diagnostics company, and so we are delighted to sponsor the 6th International Winterschool on Bioelectronics.

About the workshop.

The integration of electronics with the biological world can be achieved by platforms using bio-inspired materials as well as strategies. Such bio-compatible electronics have the potential to transform current paradigms in green information technology and biomedical research. Realization of biodegradable or biocompatible, low-cost, large-volume materials and devices will contribute to sustainability in plastic "consumable" electronics. Biomaterials-based electronics with biomimetic interfaces can be utilized in medical technologies that require accurate sensing and stimulation of biological matter. 

This will be a forum to bring together both veteran and young researchers to learn and discuss emerging topics in the field of bioelectronics. Topics include: 

•    Electronic/ionic signal transduction

•    Conducting polymers in biochemistry and biomedicine

•    Electronics based on biomaterials

•    Optoelectronics at the interface with biology

•    Electroceuticals

•    Devices for electronic sensing of bioanalytes, and electronically-mediated drug delivery

•    Iontronics, protonics

•    Electronic interfaces with biochemistry

•    Artificial skin

•    Artificial retina

•    Consideration of conduction in biomaterials, i.e. melanin, DNA, etc.

•    Nature-inspired materials for energy harvesting applications

•    Implantable electronics

•    Nanoinjection, structured material interfaces with cells

•    Biocompatible inorganic semiconductors and devices

•    Neural Interface

•    Clinical applications

•    Plant electronics / bionics

•    Tissue Engineering

ZP - Christmas Party 2018

Zimmer and Peacock has had a record breaking 2018 and the team is really looking forward to 2019.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with all your biosensors and medical diagnostic development and manufacturing needs.

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leading contract biosensor and medical diagnostics company, and so we are delighted to sponsor the 6th International Winterschool on Bioelectronics.

About the workshop.

The integration of electronics with the biological world can be achieved by platforms using bio-inspired materials as well as strategies. Such bio-compatible electronics have the potential to transform current paradigms in green information technology and biomedical research. Realization of biodegradable or biocompatible, low-cost, large-volume materials and devices will contribute to sustainability in plastic "consumable" electronics. Biomaterials-based electronics with biomimetic interfaces can be utilized in medical technologies that require accurate sensing and stimulation of biological matter. 

This will be a forum to bring together both veteran and young researchers to learn and discuss emerging topics in the field of bioelectronics. Topics include: 

•    Electronic/ionic signal transduction

•    Conducting polymers in biochemistry and biomedicine

•    Electronics based on biomaterials

•    Optoelectronics at the interface with biology

•    Electroceuticals

•    Devices for electronic sensing of bioanalytes, and electronically-mediated drug delivery

•    Iontronics, protonics

•    Electronic interfaces with biochemistry

•    Artificial skin

•    Artificial retina

•    Consideration of conduction in biomaterials, i.e. melanin, DNA, etc.

•    Nature-inspired materials for energy harvesting applications

•    Implantable electronics

•    Nanoinjection, structured material interfaces with cells

•    Biocompatible inorganic semiconductors and devices

•    Neural Interface

•    Clinical applications

•    Plant electronics / bionics

•    Tissue Engineering

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

There's more than one way to measure pH

What's wrong with some of the methods of measuring pH? At ZP we recently discovered the answer to this question whilst working on a novel application, and the answer is that potentiometric measurements using oxide based sensors can take some time to reach equilibrium, When we say 'some time' we specifically mean 200 seconds, which may not sound like a lot, but if you want or need to know the pH of a sample within 30 seconds then 200 seconds is too long.

At ZP we have a different attitude to problems, as we seem them as opportunities and so when faced with a challenge of needing a fast to respond pH sensor, we changed the mode of operation and the chemistry of detection; what we created was a ZP voltammetric pH sensor which was able to measure pH within 30 seconds.

Electrochemistry - The perfect bridge between chemistry/biology and engineering

Scientists in the lab, be it biologists and chemists, love to measure their molecules and assays by optical spectroscopy method, be it: UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, infrared, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence etc.

The fundamental issue with these lab techniques is that don't always translate when you need to make real world sensors and assays, especially where parameters such as low cost, quantification etc come into play. 

If we take a lesson from history we should consider the home glucose test used by diabetics.  When these products first came to market they were optical assays, but were quickly  replaced by electrochemical assays. 

Why were the first glucose home use meters optical? The answer is because the scientists and engineers developing them were used to optical assays, and so they of course they went  with what they knew.  The issue is that an optically based assay often requires a sample with a high transparency; but high transparency is an immediate issue when you are trying to analyse real-world  samples such as whole blood. When people discovered that they could get a glucose signal in whole blood using screen printed electronics/electrodes the market very quickly moved over to electrochemistry. This move from optical assays to electrochemistry by the glucose detection market was not because the scientists and engineers loved electrochemistry, but it was because it offered a much lower cost detection strategy with a lot less sample workup.

Find out more on our website here. 

ZP - exhibiting ECEE 2019

ZP is delighted to be exhibiting alongside Zahner at ECEE in glasgow.

The Electrochemical Conference on Energy and the Environment (ECEE 2019): Bioelectrochemistry and Energy Storage will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 21-26, 2019 at the Scottish Events Campus (SEC). This international meeting will focus on the following areas:

Lithium-ion Batteries: From the Design of New Electrode Materials and Electrolytes to the Performance and Recycling of Industrial Systems

In Situ and Operando Characterization of Energy Storage Systems

Mass and Charge Transfer Across Electrochemical Interfaces

From Qualitative Models to Quantitative Predictions

Alternative Battery Chemistries and High-power Devices

Metal Anodes Meet Solid Electrolytes

Enzymatic Bioelectrochemistry

Microbial Bioelectrochemistry

Bio-inspired Electrocatalysis

ZP - South Africa

Zimmer and Peacock is located in the USA, Norway and the United Kingdom, but our perspective is global and so this week we were in South Africa delivering our biosensor, sensor and medical diagnostic technologies to partners there.

ZP - Testing the pungency of garlic

Zimmer and Peacock have been busy going on site and testing garlic products with our garlic sensors.

Scientists in the lab, be it biologists and chemists, love to measure their molecules and assays by optical spectroscopy method, be it: UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, infrared, surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence etc.

The fundamental issue with these lab techniques is that don't always translate when you need to make real world sensors and assays, especially where parameters such as low cost, quantification etc come into play. 

If we take a lesson from history we should consider the home glucose test used by diabetics.  When these products first came to market they were optical assays, but were quickly  replaced by electrochemical assays. 

Why were the first glucose home use meters optical? The answer is because the scientists and engineers developing them were used to optical assays, and so they of course they went  with what they knew.  The issue is that an optically based assay often requires a sample with a high transparency; but high transparency is an immediate issue when you are trying to analyse real-world  samples such as whole blood. When people discovered that they could get a glucose signal in whole blood using screen printed electronics/electrodes the market very quickly moved over to electrochemistry. This move from optical assays to electrochemistry by the glucose detection market was not because the scientists and engineers loved electrochemistry, but it was because it offered a much lower cost detection strategy with a lot less sample workup.

If developing low cost real-world solutions at the right price  is important to you then, there is a fundamental/quantum reason when electrochemistry 'beats' optical techniques and it comes down to whether it is easier to measure an electron or a photon. An electron has mass and charge, whilst a photon has no mass and no charge. Any electronics engineer can measure electrons, it is called electrical current, but it takes more effort to measure something with no mass or charge, such as a photon. This quantum difference between a photon and an electron means that the electronics needed to measure an optical system are more expensive than the electron system.

As discussed an optical system often requires transparent clean sample, free from chunks and lumps, but also an optical system also requires shielding from the ambient light. We are surrounded by light and so special measures have to be taken to shield the sample from the light. If we return to the example of the glucose strip for diabetes, there is no shielding of the assay in place, and this is because electrochemistry doesn't 'care about' light. This reduces the cost of electrochemical products as the engineers don't have to design special shielding for the assay.

Zimmer and Peacock is a unique company in that we have a full range of analytical techniques from UV-Vis spectrometers, UV-VIS-HPLC, plate readers, potentiostats etc, and so we are very used to developing and validating assays using the spectrum of analytical techniques.  If you have any questions regarding this article please don't hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Chilli Sauces tested in production on ZP Chilli Sensors

ZP is delighted that many of our clients are now using the ZP ChilliPot to test their products as part of the QC in production.

ZP - fixing problems with sensors and biosensors

THE PROBLEM

At Zimmer and Peacock we develop electrochemical sensors, biosensors and medical diagnostics;  something that is rarely mentioned both in the academic or industrial setting is the reference electrode. Often the reference electrode is silver/silver chloride, but the term not often used but which should be accurately applied is pseudo reference electrode.

What this means is that the reference electrode is only a reference electrode under certain conditions  of stable chloride concentration.  In many applications chloride can be considered to be stable and repeatable, for example the chloride concentration in blood, plasma, serum, interstitial fluid etc the chloride concentration is around 135 to 150 mM. In other applications such as urine analysis, water testing, food testing etc, the chloride concentration maybe unknown and maybe a variable. The issue  is that a silver/silver chloride reference electrode has a potential that is effected by the sample's chloride concentration,  this is shown in the image below.

The effect of having a pseudo reference electrode is that sensors based on amperometry potentiometry, voltammetry, etc many not function as expected if the chloride concentration is unknown and variable. Read our solution on our website here. 

How to collect sweat for on skin analysis?

Zimmer and Peacock has the world's only off-the-shelf platform for analysing sweat, be it glucose, lactate, sodium, oxygen, chloride or pH. In the adjacent video we show you a configuration for collecting sweat and moving the sweat over a sensor.

ZP BioMed Devices 2018 San Jose

Thank you for talking to us at BioMed Devices San Jose 2018.

At the conference we spoke about sensors for potassium, sodium, pH, glucose, lactate, oxygen, etc.

We talked about wearable sensors and detecting analytes in urine, plasma, sweat and blood.

If you have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock please don't hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP develops chloride sensor

At Zimmer we believe that ion sensors including sodium, potassium and pH are important sensors which is why we are delighted to expand our range with a chloride sensor.

Anatomy of a ZP Sensor

This picture is the front side and back side of a ZP sensor, when using these sensors it is important that the connector you use does not cause a short between the front side and backside. If you are planning to use these sensors in a potentiometric mode you of course need to make electrical connection with the working/sense electrode, you can then choose to use the reference or counter electrodes as your reference or short the counter and reference together and have them combined as the reference electrode.

Questions about Zahner

At Zimmer and Peacock we are here to help our clients and customers. This week we had an enquiry about the EIS and potentiostats of Zahner that ZP distributes in the Nordics and UK.

In the short post below we have answered some of the recent questions we received. 

1. The Zahner system can be controlled by windows7/8/10-PC, though the Win10 machine is not supplied';this means that if you have a Win10 machine you can run the software.

2. Some of the Zahner potentiostats are advertised as having Controlled voltage: ±15 V / ±5 V, what this means is that you can choose to operate the instrument  at ±15 V or ±5 V; you will use the ±5 V voltage often in  applications like the Gratzel cell etc, whilst you will use the ±15 V setting in power applications like batteries and fuel cells. Switching between ±15 V or ±5 V is an option in the software.

3.What is the difference between the compliance voltage and the controlled voltage? Often in an electrochemical cell we will have the working electrode, the counter electrode and the reference electrode. The electrochemist is often interested in controlling the voltage at the working electrode (called controlled voltage), but what we as electrochemists sometimes over look is that the potentiostat then applies another voltage to the cell at the counter electrode called the compliance voltage. The reason that the potentiostat applies this compliance voltage at the counter electrode is because the rate of reaction at the counter electrode needs to be as fast as the rate of reaction/current at the working electrode. So in summary the controlled voltage is what we apply at working electrode, whilst the compliance voltage is what the potentiostat applies to the counter electrode to ensure the rate of reaction at the working electrode is as fast as it need to be.

4. Zahner instruments come with extra slots for additional hardware modules, these slots can be used for additonal cards like the TEMP/U and the PAD4. For example the TEMP/U allows for the measurement of parameters such as pH, temperature etc within the electrochemical cell, whilst teh PAD4 is often used to measure 4 electrochemical cells that are in a battery or fuel cell stack.

5.The PAD4 is useful in applications where you have for example a series of electrochemical cells stacked together to form a battery. The Zahner potentiostat would allow you to measure the impedance across the entire battery, but if you want to know how individual cells within the batter are performing you can use the PAD4 to measure up to 4 cells within the stack, of course the more PAD4 cards you use the more cells within a stack you can measure.

6 The PP211 is often supplied with Zahner CIMPS systems, this is because the Zahner CIMPS system has a light source and the P211 is the 'power supply  to that light source.

ZP patrocina Congreso Colombiabo de Electroquimic

ZP se presenta como uno de los patrocinadores del Congreso Columbiano de Electroquímica.

ZP es uno de los líderes mundiales en tecnología para electroquímicos: electrodos impresos, potenciostatos, etc.

Por favor no dude en contactar con nosotros para más detalle

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Corrosion - Industry's Chronic Disease

At Zimmer and Peacock we believe in solving global problems and often this means working with our clients and collaborators on problems associated with human health using electrochemical biosensors, but this skill set also allows us to think about another global problem akin to chronic diseases which is corrosion.  

Corrosion is a trillion dollar global issue and at ZP we are very interested in bringing our medical technologies to monitoring and preventing the global problems of corrosion. This week we were invited to Southend Pier in the UK and were taken underneath the pier by the Pier Manager to see and discuss the areas of corrosion.

Zimmer and Peacock - New Team Members

Question - What do you get when you add one admin, one scientist and two engineers?

Answer - A much stronger team.

At Zimmer and Peacock we have been busy growing, welcome to our new team members.

ZP - pH of cheese

This week Zimmer and Peacock were asked to measure the pH of cheese and though it was a first for us we were able to do it using one of our disposable screen-printed pH sensors.

At Zimmer and Peacock we manufacture a number of sensors including: glucose, lactate, sodium, potassium, pH, oxygen, chilli hotness, garlic pungency etc. If you are looking for a sensor and it is not on our list please feel free to contact us or if you have any questions regarding our standard sensors don't hesitate to drop us a line.

ZP - A trillion dollar problem

At ZP we like to work on technologies that will change the world and that is why we put so much effort into health, well being, food and agriculture. This week we met with a number of stakeholders to brainstorm how to reduce a global epidemic, i.e. corrosion.

ZP - Cleanrooms

If you come to see Zimmer and Peacock in Horten we will probably take you to see our facility access at USN.

At Zimmer and Peacock we believe in solving global problems and often this means working with our clients and collaborators on problems associated with human health using electrochemical biosensors, but this skill set also allows us to think about another global problem akin to chronic diseases which is corrosion.  Corrosion is a trillion dollar global issue and so at ZP we are very interested in bringing our medical technologies to monitoring and preventing the global problems of corrosion.  This week we were invited to Southend Pier in the UK and were taken underneath the pier by the Pier Manager to see and discuss the areas of corrosion.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP - Corrosion conference

Zimmer and Peacock are delighted to be exhibiting at the Antwerp Maritime Academy on the 1st April as part of their Maritime Corrosion Workshop.

ZP - Adds liquids calibration and test solutions to product portfolio

At Zimmer and Peacock we believe in getting our customers and clients to market ASAP, so we are trying to remove every possible barrier.  This is why we have such a complete product and information offering around our sensors and products.

This week we have expanded our product portfolio to include calibration/test solutions for our sodium and potassium sensors.

ZP at Medica 2018

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leading contract developer and manufacturer of biosensors, sensors and medical diagnostics, so we visited Medica last week to talk to supplier and clients and understand the direction of the health markets.

Adhesives for wearable biosensors and sensors

At Zimmer and Peacock we know that wearables are the future of biosensors, health and fitness monitoring. We specialise in the contract design and contract manufacture of biosensors and medical diagnostics including wearable sensors and biosensors. Our wearable biosensor capabilities include: glucose, lactate, sodium, potassium, pH, oxygen, etc. Alongside our understanding of the sensor we also have the electronics for both the sensor and the bluetooth communication. 

At ZP we appreciate that the choice of adhesive materials to attach the sensors to the skin is important, and the choice of materials depends on the: application, the skin type, the demographics of the target market, the expected duration of wear. Find out more on our website here. 

At ZP we are in a continuous mode of improving our sensors. In this recent effort we have studied our potassium sensors for longer period to see the drift as  a function of time.

The importance of sensor drift on a potassium ion sensor (ISE) depends on the application, if you have any commercial or technical questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock's potassium ISE then please don't hesitate to contact us.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring is in a Renaissance

We were recently at the Diabetes Technology Conference in Bethesda Maryland and it was clear that there was a new wave of interest in continuous glucose sensors and monitoring. So to celebrate ZP has launched our increased capabilities in the CGM space.

ZP at TekMar - Trondheim

Zimmer and Peacock are a world leader in biosensor development and contract manufacturing. We are delighted to be attending TekMar 2018 on 4-5 December in Trondheim, where we will be discussing biosensors for Salmon Farming and other Aquaculture applications.

ZP at Diabetes Technology Meeting 2018

Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to present our poster and perform hardware demos at the Diabetes Technology Meeting 2018 in Bethesda.

Please feel free to download our poster from our website and click the links to see the range of biosensors and our wearable biosensor platform for continuous glucose monitoring and other wearable biosensor applications.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP launches Garlic Pungency Sensor

Zimmer and Peacock launches a new sensor for the rapid and easy determination of garlic and garlic products. Find out more on our website here. 

ZP appear in Oxford University Periodic Magazine

Zimmer and Peacock are delighted to be highlighted in the University of Oxford Periodic Magazine. The article deals with the Chilli Sensing Technology developed at the Compton Group and how ZP has rapidly taken it to market.

ZP - Biosensors in Surgery

Zimmer and Peacock were recently invited to speak on a panel for Talent Bank in Swansea.

As part of the day ZP got to see the future generation of surgeons practicing their skills.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Smart Sensors for Drug Testing (Cannabidiol detection)

Zimmer and Peacock is sponsoring a research Masters project to develop a novel, smart electrochemical sensor technology for the detection of Cannabidiol (or CBD), a prescription drug. Using the state of the art facilities at Swansea’s Centre for Nanohealth, the MSc scholar will work with top research scientists and academics to develop sensors for testing and purity quality control.

Joining PalmSens to Micrux

At Zimmer and Peacock we distribute both Micrux and PalmSens as we believe in the best technology for the problem that is being investigated or solved, sometimes this is a combination of parts from both companies.

In this image we have shown all the parts necessary to go from a MUX8 to a Multi8x-AIO.

See our labs and rapid prototyping

Please watch this video to have a peek behind the scenes at Zimmer and Peacock.

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leading contract biosensor and medical diagnostics company for wearable biosensor, sensors and medical diagnostics, the video shows some of our rapid prototyping services.

Signal as a function of SPE

In the experiments on our website here, Zimmer and Peacock shows the data recorded on a number of our screen printed electrodes - SPEs. Zimmer and Peacock are experts on screen printed electrodes (SPEs), electrochemistry and electrochemical sensors so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

Choosing an SPE

Zimmer and Peacock is focused on helping our clients and partners get to marker ASAP with electrochemical sensors suitable for field applications.

For a screen printed electrode to be commercially successful in the field the following FEATURES are important.

1. FEATURE ONE - The sensor must have the potential to be low cost, so to ensure the highest margins.

2. FEATURE TWO - The sensors have to function correctly.

3. FEATURE THREE -The sensors should operate at a low power, with simpler electronics.

It is with these FEATURES in mind that ZP has started to promote the ‘value range’ over our first generation of sensors and electrodes. Find out more on our website here.

ZP Team at Made in Horten

Zimmer and Peacock AS is Norway's leading contract biosensor, wearable biosensor and medical diagnostics company providing contract development and manufacturing services, alongside our standard products.

This week we were showing our technologies and capabilities ranging from exhaled breath collection to the hotness of chilli sensing at the Made in Horten show.

In the experiments below Zimmer and Peacock shows the data recorded on a number of our screen printed electrodes - SPEs. Zimmer and Peacock are experts on screen printed electrodes (SPEs), electrochemistry and electrochemical sensors so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

At Zimmer and Peacock we have observed the phenomena described in the figure, and have had it reported to us by others in the glucose strip market. 

With the ZP value sensors we have eliminated this effect by instead of having just a bare carbon, platinum or gold counter electrode we instead have a silver/silver chloride counter electrode. What this means is that if the counter electrode is at a negative voltage then the  silver chloride is reduced to silver which is an insoluble product and therefore will not diffuse to the working electrode; of course the counter to this is if the counter electrode is a positive voltage then the silver is converted to the insoluble silver chloride which again does not diffuse to the working electrode. 

The use of silver/silver chloride on the counter electrode of the ZP value sensor at the very least produces a defined reaction on the counter electrode which would otherwise be an unknown reaction which can have unexpected outcomes.

Feature 3 – Power

Though not a topic often discussed the power it takes to drive an electrochemical sensors and biosensors can be linked to two parameters:

1) The working voltage – the voltage applied to the working electrode relative the reference electrode.

2) The compliance voltage – the voltage applied to the counter electrode to ensure that the reaction at the counter electrode is not the rate limiting step to the reaction at the working electrode.

It is often overlooked by sensors designers that the chemistry at the counter electrode can influence the power consumption of the analog electronics; for example, if no particular care is taken on the counter electrode material then the compliance voltage maybe - 0.9 V due to the reduction of water. Therefore if the voltage on the working electrode is  0.25 V, the entire cell potential is 1.15 V. A simple change of material on the counter  electrode to silver/silver chloride means that there is now the potential for a very facile reaction on the counter electrode as silver chloride can be converted into silver, and similarly silver into silver chloride in the case of a positive voltage at the counter electrode. The conversion of silver and silver chloride occurs at a compliance potential close to 0 V and so the cell potential for a sensor where 0.25 V is applied the working electrode will now be approximately 0.25 V, as opposed to the previous 1.15 V. This can result in both simpler electronics running at a lower power duty.

SUMMARY

Zimmer and Peacock is promoting it’s value sensors over the more traditional sensors because we see that it offers several commercial and technical advantages over the more traditional sensor form factor.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Measuring the hotness of curry

The owners of Horten's leading curry house receive a live demo of the ChilliPot - Scoville Meter.

The ChilliPot manufactured by ZP's Chilli Technology Group is the world's only objective measurement of the hotness of foods and products containing chillies.

ZP - Brainstorming and Team Building

A couple of weeks ago ZP had its company meeting, where we focused on brainstorming and team building.

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leader in contract development and manufacturing of wearable biosensors and medical diagnostics. Click the videos below for an insight into our corporate culture.

A couple of weeks ago ZP had it's company meeting, where we focused on brainstorming and team building.

Zimmer and Peacock is a world leader in contract development and manufacturing of wearable biosensors and medical diagnostics. Click the videos below for an insight into our corporate culture.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP - Indonesia

ZP has global written throughout our DNA and so we are delighted to have happy friends and colleagues in Indonesia.

At ZP we don't think it's enough to provide technology, you also have to provide the training and service.

Wetting time in CGM sensors

If you are wondering how long a CGM takes to break in or stabilise the answer is it depends on the materials of construction, in this figure the thickness of the polymers layers means it takes about 2 hours.

Meet us in San Jose in December

Zimmer and Peacock will be at BioMed Devices in San Jose on 5-6 December 2018.

ZP is a leading contract developer and manufacturer of biosensors and medical diagnostics and so we are delighted to be exhibiting in San Jose for a second year running.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP - integrates flex and biosensors

At ZP we are all about innovating and this photo is an example.

Here we have taken our flex circuit and made it work with our standard sensors.

ZP featured in AZO Sensors

ZP is one of the leading companies for performing tech transfer from Universities to the Market, so we were delighted to be featured on the AZO website.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP - UV exclusion

At ZP we know that the more environmental parameters we control the more controlled the sensors and biosensors, that is why we are excluding UV light from critical parts of the sensor and biosensor fabrication process.

ZP looking for partners - pH microwell system

Zimmer and Peacock is a global leader in contract electrochemical sensor and biosensor development and manufacturing, and this has  generated an interest from our clients for ZP taking our capabilities in sensor manufacturing, hardware manufacturing and software design through to a system for measuring pH in  a microwell format.

In this note we describe the system we have been asked to develop and ask anyone interested in collaborating with us on this to contact us, we are specifically interested in scientists, engineers, etc who are interested in using such a system in their work and research.

Zimmer and Peacock at Sensors and Instrumentation Birmingham

Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to speak with everyone at Sensors and Instrumentation in Birmingham.

On our website we have put some quick links to who we are and some of the technologies we discussed.

Collecting the Exhaled Breath Condensate

Zimmer and Peacock have launched their G1 Exhaled Breath Collection Device for collecting exhaled breath condensate.

This is functionalized to only collect the exhaled breath condensate and is the fastest most efficient collector of breath condensate, with the user only having to perform normal tidal breathing.

Please don't hesitate to contact us to find out more.

Measuring sauces at the restaurant

Visit our website to see the latest demo of the ChillIpot - Scoville Meter from the ZP Chilli Group.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

ZP Speaks at MEMS and Sensors Conference

This week Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to speak at the MEMS and Sensors Conference in Grenoble France.

We covered everything from oxygen sensors, to potassium sensors, to lactate sensors, to hydrogen peroxide sensors, to glucose sensors, to chilli sensors, to pH sensors, to sodium sensors, to garlic sensors.

ZP in Brazil

ZP were delighted to be Sao Paulo recently, talking to the research teams and forming strong commercial bonds.

ZP - Unversidade de Sao Paulo

Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to meet new friends at the University of Sao Paulo this week.

ZP - The University of Bath

Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to speak recently as the University of Bath on how to commercialise biosensors and medical diagnostics.

ZP - Sensors and Biosensors in Indonesia

ZP was delighted to cement stronger relationships with the Indonesian sensor and biosensor community on a recent trip.

ZP and Zahner at ISE Bolognia

Thank you for speaking with Pavel and Jann at ISE Bolognia.

On our website we have put a link to Zahner's Potentiostat Technology and an introduction to Zimmer and Peacock

ZP and PalmSens - Antwerp

Zimmer and Peacock recently exhibited at SMOBE2018, alongside PalmSens.

ZP at USN Norway

Zimmer and Peacock has hired nine scientists and engineers so far from US, so this week we were delighted to go back and start the recruitment of the next generation of biosensors and medical diagnostic developers and manufacturers.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Chilli Sensor honoured by customer

The ZP Chilli Technology Group has been honoured by one of our customers who has put our logo next to the Scoville Heat Unit.

University of Leicester - Zimmer and Peacock

Zimmer and Peacock have been invited to the University of Leicester to give a talk to the chemistry group.

Description: Dr. Martin Peacock will discuss his career and what it takes to bring a scientific idea to the market.

Speaker: Martin Peacock, Director, Zimmer and Peacock

Martin Peacock is an industrial bioelectrochemist, having worked at GSK and Abbott Diabetes, before catching the entrepreneurial bug and founding a number of companies. Martin has now set up companies in California, the UK and Norway and so has both a strong technical understanding coupled with the realities of manufacturing and commercializing biosensor technologies. Martin still authors academic papers, alongside writing business plans and developing business strategies.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Made in Horten

Zimmer and Peacock are exhibiting at Made in Horten on the 12 October 2018.

Please come and meet the team there.

Measuring pH with Arduino

At Zimmer and Peacock we believe in helping our customers and collaborators get to market.

In this video we show a low cost set of electronics that can be used to get a signal from our pH electrode

We used the board in conjunction with Gravity: Analog pH Sensor / Meter Kit For Arduino.

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

100 micrometer electrodes

At Zimmer and Peacock we love electrochemistry as it offers a low cost sensor, biosensor and medical diagnostic.

In the adjacent image we show an electrochemical based sensor under a microscope, where it can be seen that the features of the electrode are on the order of 100 micrometers, which is the width of a human hair.

ZP expands labs

We are focused on productising and commercialising our collaborators projects and products in sensors, biosensors and medical diagnostics. As part of the effort we are often called upon to do lab work, so we have had to expand our labs to cope with the increase in business.

ZP expands into Indonesia

A central tenant at Zimmer and Peacock is to be an internal company and so were delighted to make new friends and contacts in Indonesia.

ZP Speak at International Conference on Agricultural Post Harvest

Zimmer and Peacock were delighted to attend and speak at the International conference on Agricultural and Postharvest Handling and Processing.

We talked about our willingness to partner on product development and manufacturing, and used our Chilli Sensor as the perfect case study.

The future is already wearables

At Zimmer and Peacock we are actively supporting wearable biosensor technologies through our contract development and manufacturing services; so that designers, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs can incorporate biochemical assays into their smart devices, garments and health trackers.  

Find out more about our standard biosensors on our website, these formulations can be moved onto our wearable platform.

Making electrical connection with our/your CGM sensor

Zimmer and Peacock are a world leading contract sensor, biosensor and medical diagnostics development and manufacturing company, including continuous glucose monitoring (CGM).

At Zimmer and Peacock we understand the importance of making a great electrical  connection to a CGM sensor and so alongside our CGM sensors we ship connectors so people can start their in-vitro studies more successfully.

ZP - All carbon pH electrode

Zimmer and Peacock manufactures disposable pH sensors for single and continuous use. We have just expanded the range by manufacturing an all carbon version.

ZP Sponsoring BioEl2019 International Winterschool on Bioelectronics

Zimmer and Peacock are the world leader contract developer and manufacturer of sensors and biosensors, so we are product to be sponsoring the BIOEI 2019 conference.

Wearable Sensors - Statistics and Facts

Wearables, as the name suggests, are gadgets that can be worn. These devices usually have smart sensors and are connected to the internet for data exchange. 

THE HISTORY OF WEARABLES

Pulsar’s Calculator Wristwatch can be considered as the first consumer wearable device to achieve global success. In 2000, the first Bluetooth headset was sold and in 2004, the first GoPro was launched. The wearable market is promising, as the number of connected wearable devices worldwide is expected to jump from an estimate of 325 million in 2016 to over 830 million in 2020. 

WHO CURRENTLY USES WEARABLE DEVICES

Businesses, military forces and medical professionals have been using wearable technology for decades, but the private consumer market has recently started to feature items such as smart glasses, smart watches, hearables, fitness and health trackers, smart jewelry and smart clothing. The most successful wearable devices on the market are smart watches and health and fitness tracker. In fact, just over 170 million units of wearable wristwear devices are forecast to be shipped in 2020, more than any other wearable category. By 2018, smart watches are forecast to account for about half of all wearable unit sales worldwide. According to another forecast sales of smart watches are to reach 141 million units by 2018 worldwide. Apple’s operating system - watchOS - is the most used smart wristwear operating system at this time. watchOS is forecast to maintain this position until 2020, when Android/Android Wear is projected to become the most used wristwear OS. 

SMART WATCHES

The leading smart watch vendors are Apple, Samsung, Lenovo, Garmin and Pebble with Apple holding the largest share of the market. Despite its strong position in the smart watch market, Apple is not as strong of a player in the overall wearable industry. With a strong presence in the health and fitness wearable market, Fitbit has been a leader in the wearable industry since 2014, when the company held about 45 percent of the market share. As other companies such as Apple, Xiaomi, Garmin, and Samsung have also released wearable products, Fitbit’s market share has declined to around 20 percent at the end of 2016. In all of 2016 wearable device shipments amounted to about 112 million units. 

WHY IS THIS SO BIG AND WHERE ARE WE GOING?

The above statement only hints at the vast business and technological frontier that awaits the entrepreneurial pioneers that are now developing the smart items that will capture and amplify human civilization. Though it seems hyperbole at ZP we cannot over emphasize the magnitude of the opportunity that wearable sensors and biosensors present.  There is something irresistibly and overwhelmingly seductive in the attraction between humans and machines.  The Human-Cyber-Machine interface is addictive, and if you are not convinced then you need only look at pedestrians walking on a busy city street, where the majority are actively engaged with their smart phones.

A skeptic may point to static company growth results at FitBit or GoPro and object, but we believe the reason is that it is easy to measure your heart rate, your breathing or you blood pressure.  These are all data that any user already intuitively knows and so who needs a watch to tell you that you are breathing fast or that your heart rate is elevated after exercise. The next real step is when these companies can successfully integrate biochemical sensors, such as glucose, hydration, drug levels, stress markers, pregnancy hormones, adrenaline etc., etc. into a wearable monitors.  These are data points that are not accessible to the individual, and access to real-time instantaneous results will make a real difference in the behavior of elite athletes, amateur athletes, diabetics, enthusiastic gym goers, the elderly etc.

The border between health trackers and medical diagnostic/tracking devices is blurring and will continue to blur over the next few years.  Digital personalized medicine will be the fashion.  There is a very simple difference between going to the doctor, giving a blood sample and the laboratory processing and reporting the result to the doctor.  And finally, the doctor giving you the results along with an interpretation and a bill, of course.  The home glucose monitors allow a patient to take their blood glucose readings at home or wherever, log the data, make an actionable decision and react appropriately by taking insulin, doing nothing or eating some sugar. Eventually, turning the data over to the doctor and get an interpretation and a bill.  A great concern in society and 21st century civilization is data ownership, who owns the data?  In the case of laboratory results, the doctor owns or controls the data.  In the case of the home glucose monitor the patient owns the data.  As more and more wearable devices are sold and the sensor capabilities increase, this personal data will be controlled or effectively owned by the user.  This is both very powerful and democratic, because the wearable user will/can do quasi-scientific studies on himself and make behavioral decisions, this the essence of the Human-Cyber-Machine interface. As this process continues, the behavior of these individuals, and all of us, will change in unpredictable ways. Just like the smart phone users on the street, people are very likely to become addicted to the experience…’do not try taking these data producing wearables away from people...’

At Zimmer and Peacock we are a superfriendly team so please don't hesitate to contact us.

About the workshop

Welcome to this week's newsletter from Zimmer and Peacock. This newsletter is a mixture of news, stories and tech notes from Zimmer and Peacock. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter or have any questions regarding Zimmer and Peacock and our passion for biosensor technologies please don't hesitate to contact us.

Gold electrodes for sensors and biosensors

This is an inconclusive post, but at ZP we recently took a look at two electrodes, the intention of both electrodes is for sensing.

One of the sensors in the image below is a commercial glucose strip (blue), whilst the other is an R and D electrode (green) from Zimmer and Peacock.

The commercial glucose strip was made by vapour deposition and laser ablation, whilst the ZP sensor was made by thick film screen printing.

Our expectation when looking under the microscope was that the commercial glucose strip would appear much finer/precise/accurate in it's edges and surfaces relative to the ZP thick film sensor. The actual result was that the screen printed electrode and the vapour deposited electrode looked pretty similar. This doesn't rule out that the vapour deposited electrode is in fact has a smoother and more reproducible surface when manufactured in volume than the screen printed electrodes, but a quick assessment under a microscope said that the two processes gave a similar finish.

If you are considering manufacturing and gold electrodes are part of your product then we would say the following 'if you are looking for feature sizes less than 200 microns then vapour deposition is a good technique. If you have electrodes whose feature sizes are greater than 200 microns then thick film printing is probably good enough. At the 1000 micron scale then screen printing is probably/definitely good enough'.

Every project and product and application is unique, so please contact ZP to discuss your specific requirements.

ZP launches Sodium Sensor/Sodium Ion

Zimmer and Peacock launches new sodium sensor. The sodium sensor is part of a growing list of sensors and biosensors from Zimmer and Peacock.

Zimmer and Peacock is a leader in contract development and manufacturing of sensors, biosensors and medical diagnostics.

ZP available on the AppStore

ZP are contract developers and manufacturers of sensors, biosensors and medical diagnostics, as part or our holistic approach we are also iOS developers. 

We have launched our most recent app to the Apple AppStore. The app only works in conjunction with our ChilliPot and is used to measure the hotness of Chilli Products.

Sensor and Assay Technology Readiness Levels

At Zimmer and Peacock we develop and manufacture sensors and assays for our clients.

We use NASA's Technology Readiness Levels to define what level a technology is at, or to what level we will bring or deliver the technology to. 

In parallel with the Technology Readiness Levels are the Manufacturing Readiness Levels, which we use to define how matured the production manufacturing is.

At Zimmer and Peacock we support our clients and customers through standard products, development services and manufacturing.