(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) Mustard Tree Instruments®, continuing to lead the way in developing innovative solutions to evolving pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing challenges, announced today that CEO Todd Blonshine will be presenting on quality control issues at Pittcon 2012 in Orlando, Fla. on Sunday, March 11. Blonshine will be the first speaker participating in the High-Throughput Chemical Analysis session track beginning at 1:00 p.m., discussing an emerging multi-variant approach to obtaining immediate, unambiguous results from drug product samples using a combination of machine vision and Raman spectroscopy.

“Raman spectroscopy is non-destructive and only requires a low volume of inexpensive, common material samples for testing with zero prep time,” Blonshine explained.

The Pittcon presentation comes on the heels of Mustard Tree Instruments® successful participation in the 26th International Forum and Exhibition Process Analytical Technology (Process Analysis and Control) (IFPAC) conference in Baltimore, Md. in late January. The analytical instrumentation leader used the highly respected conference on trends in technology, standards, and controls to unveil the latest addition to its game-changing toolset for identification and composition testing of raw and blended materials, the Mustard Tree Verifier™ Process System 1000 (VPS-1000).

Rugged and powerful, the VPS-1000 — about the size of laptop — is specifically designed to fit in the most compact pharmaceutical and chemical processing locations.  The unit performs sensitive real-time testing of liquids, powders, solids, gels, suspensions and emulsions in a variety of harsh conditions and hygienic environments. The Mustard Tree Verifier™ Tri-Test 1000 (VTT-1000) multi-variant testing device, released in May 2011, performs non-destructive chemical identification, size, and color analysis in benign environments.

According to Mustard Tree Instruments® Chief Technical Officer and IFPAC attendee Brian Garrett, the event’s focus on the applications of spectroscopy and chemical imaging within pharmaceutical, chemical, food, and petrochemical market sectors fit perfectly with the intended uses of both the VPS-1000 and the VTT-1000 instruments.

“Our toolset simplifies complex decision making processes for both at-line and in-line materials testing in a multitude of continuous manufacturing scenarios,” Garrett explained.

The world’s largest annual conference and exposition for laboratory science, Pittcon 2012 will offer the latest technology and instrumentation from nearly 1,000 exhibitors, a diverse Technical Program of more than 2,000 technical presentations, 90 plus Short Courses and networking sessions.

Todd Blonshine’s presentation at Pittcon will revolve around his submitted paper, “Multi-Variant Technology Combining Machine Vision with Raman Spectroscopy for Rapid Assessment of Pharmaceutical Drug Product Formulation and Dosage Strength” which he co-authored with his company’s Science Officer Brisco Harward, Ph.D.

“With over 17,000 attendees, Pittcon is an important event for our company to meet and partner with innovative industrial and scientific professionals to continue in redefining the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with a purpose,” Blonshine said.

For more information about the Mustard Tree Instruments® and their products, please visit www.mustardtree.com or email info@mustardtree.com. To view the educational video, “What is Raman Spectroscopy?” visit YouTube.com/MustardTreeTV.

About Pittcon
Pittcon is the world’s annual premier Conference and Exposition on laboratory science. It is organized by The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, a Pennsylvania not-for-profit educational corporation which is comprised of the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP) and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP). For more information on Pittcon 2012, visit www.pittcon.org.

About Mustard Tree Instruments®
Mustard Tree Instruments® accelerates the QC process by bringing testing from the lab to the production line (www.LAB2LINE.com). Mustard Tree Instruments® is redefining pharmaceutical manufacturing testing with unique at line or real time devices, the VTT-1000 and VPS-1000. Using Raman spectroscopy technology for enhanced accuracy, their instruments quickly verify raw material identity to final form dosage in solid, powder, and liquid product samples within seconds. The rapid and simple to set up analytics significantly reduce testing time and start-up costs while mitigating manufacturing risks associated with bad product batches. Mustard Tree Instruments is committed to fully engaging customers from purchase through implementation. For more information, visit www.mustardtree.com.