R&D
Cara staff have carried out research and development projects in areas which include yeast and fermentation, flavour and sensory science, analytical chemistry, rapid microbiology and software development. Collectively they have published more than 150 scientific papers, books and book chapters and patent specifications.
We have presented papers and posters at a number of national and international conferences and symposia, including the World Brewing Congress, European Brewery Convention, Institute of Brewing & Distilling Africa and Asia Pacific Conventions, Master Brewers of the Americas Conventions and American Society of Brewing Chemists meetings.
In addition to confidential research and development work carried out on behalf of clients we fund an internal R&D programme in the areas of rapid microbiological detection techniques, brewing yeast strain development, beer flavour technology and innovative web technologies.
Here is a selection of our published work.
Publications
Hops and hop chemistry
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Hughes, PS and Simpson, WJ (1996) Bitterness of congeners and stereoisomers of hop-derived bitter acids found in beer. Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 54 234 - 237.
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Simpson, WJ (1993) Ionization of hop compounds and hop-derived compounds. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 99, 317-326.
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Simpson, WJ (1993) Cambridge Prize Lecture. Studies on the sensitivity of lactic acid bacteria to hop bitteracids. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 99, 405-411.
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Fernandez, JL and Simpson, WJ (1993) Aspects of the resistance of lactic acid bacteria to hop bitter acids. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 75, 315-319.
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Simpson, WJ (1993) Ionophoric action of trans-isohumulone on Lactobacillus brevis. Journal of General Microbiology 139, 1040-1045.
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Simpson, WJ and Smith, ARW (1992) Factors affecting antibacterial activity of hop compounds and their derivatives. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 72, 327-334.
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Simpson, WJ and Hughes, PS (1993) Cooperative binding of potassium ions to trans-isohumulone in the presence of divalent and trivalent cations. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 4, 769-772.
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Simpson, WJ and Fernandez, JL (1994) Mechanism of resistance of lactic acid bacteria to trans-isohumulone. Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists 52, 9-11.
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Simpson, WJ (1987) Synergism between hop resins and phosphoric acid and its relevance to the acid washing of yeast. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 93, 405-406.
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Hughes, PS and Simpson, WJ (1994) Sensory impact of hop-derived compounds. European Brewery Convention, Symposium on Hops, Leiden, 1994, pp. 128-140.
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Hughes, PS and Simpson, WJ (1993) Production and composition of hop products. MBAA Technical Quarterly 30, 146-154.
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O'Brien, RRJ, Chowdry, BZ, Drake, AF, Simpson, WJ and Smith, ARW (1993) CD, the tautomerism of isohumulone and the taste of beer. Abstract, 5th International Conference on Circular Dichroism, Colorado.
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Simpson, WJ, Fernandez, JL, Hughes, PS, Parker, DK and Price, AC (1993) The chemistry of iso-alpha-acids: an explanation of their mode of action. European Brewery Convention, Proceedings of the 24th Congress. IRL Press, pp. 183-192.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1991) Antibacterial action of hop resin materials. European Brewery Convention, Proceedings of the 23rd Congress. IRL Press, Oxford. pp. 185-192.
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Beer foam
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Brierly, ER, Wilde, PJ, Clark, DC, Onishi, A, Hughes, PS and Simpson, WJ (1996) Fundamental studies on the influence of ethanol on the foaming properties of beer protein fractions: a comparison of Rudin and microconductivity methods of foam assessment Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 70 531 - 537.
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Simpson, WJ and Hughes, PS (1994) Stabilization of foams by hop bitter acids: chemical interactions in beer foam. Cerevisia and Biotechnology, (3) 39-44.
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Beer flavour
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Walker, MD and Simpson, WJ (1993) Production of volatile sulphur compounds by ale and lager brewing strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Letters in Applied Microbiology 16, 40-43.
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Simpson, WJ, Hadman, SI, Boccorh, RK (1999) Validation of beer taster performance. Proceedings of 7th Convention of the Institute of Brewing Africa Section, in press.
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Simpson, WJ (1999) Beer flavour evaluation. Proceedings of the All India Brewers Convention, Bangalore, in press.
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Walker, MD and Simpson, WJ (1994) Control of sulphury flavours in cask-conditioned beer. Brewers' Guardian, 123 (11), 37-40.
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Simpson, WJ (1998) A rough guide to beer flavour assessment. Part 2: The devil lurks in the details. Brewers' Guardian, in press.
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Simpson, WJ (1997) A rough guide to beer flavour assessment. Part 1: Beer flavours, assessors and standards. Brewers' Guardian, September 1997, 25 - 29.
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Simpson, WJ (1997). Setting the standard in beer flavour training. The Brewer, August 1997.
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Brewing microbiology
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Fernandez, JL, Simpson, WJ and Dowhanick, TM (1993) Enumeration of Obesumbacterium proteus in brewery yeasts and characterization of isolated strains using Biolog GN microplates and protein fingerprinting. Letters in Applied Microbiology 17, 292-296.
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Simpson, WJ, Hammond, JRM and Miller, RB (1988) Avoparcin and vancomycin: useful antibiotics for the isolation of brewery bacteria. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 64, 299-309.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1987) The response of brewery microorganisms to vancomycin (Letter to the Editor). Journal of the Institute of Brewing 93, 459.
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Simpson, WJ (1986) A comparison of methods for the microbiological sampling of compressed gases. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 92, 154-158.
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Fernandez, JL and Simpson, WJ (1994) Cyclic growth of lactobacilli in beer. Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 77, 635-638.
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Simpson, WJ and Fernandez, JL (1992) Selection of beer-spoilage lactic acid bacteria and induction of their ability to grow in beer. Letters in Applied Microbiology 14, 13-16.
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Fernandez, JL and Simpson, WJ (1995) Measurement and prediction of the susceptibility of lager beer to spoilage by lactic acid bacteria. Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 78, 419-425.
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Simpson, WJ (1994) Comments on the mode of division of Pediococcus spp. Letters in Applied Microbiology, 18, 69-70.
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Simpson, WJ (1997) Microbiology for the small brewer. Part 2: Traditional test methods, alternatives and services. Brewers' Guardian Russian Edition,. Issue 2, 39 - 43 (in Russian).
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Simpson, WJ (1997) Microbiology for the small brewer. Part 1: Background, bugs and jargon. Brewers' Guardian Russian Edition,. Issue 1, 39 - 44 (in Russian).
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Simpson, WJ (1996) Microbiology for the small brewer. Part 2: Traditional test methods, alternatives and services. Brewers' Guardian,. 125 (3), 33-37.
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Simpson, WJ (1995) Microbiology for the small brewer. Part 1: Background, bugs and jargon. Brewers' Guardian, 124 (12), 33-37.
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Fernandez, JL and Simpson, WJ (1995) A cost effective solution to control of microbiological stability? European Brewery Convention, Proceedings of the 25th Congress. IRL Press, Oxford, pp. 713-722.
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Simpson, WJ and Fernandez, JL (1992) Detection and identification of Obesumbacterium proteus. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Brewing Technology, Harrogate.
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Simpson, WJ, Hammond, JRM and Kara, BV (1988) Apparent total N-nitroso compounds (ATNC's). Incidence, mechanism of formation, fermentation management and measurement. Ferment 1, 45-48.
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Simpson, WJ and Taguchi, H (1996) The Genus Pediococcus, with notes on the Genus Tetratogenococcus and Aerococcus. In: The Lactic Acid bacteria Volume II. The Genera of Lactic Acid Bacteria. (Wood, BJB and Holzapfel, WH, eds). Elsevier, Glasgow, pp. 125-172.
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Simpson, WJ (1991) Molecular Structure and Antibacterial Function of Hop Resin Materials. PhD Thesis, Council for National Academic Awards.
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Rapid microbiological methods
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Simpson, WJ (1993) Influence of intracellular pH on light emission from a luxA/B derivative of Lactococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis. Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence 8, 141-145.
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Simpson, WJ (1993) Application of in vivo bioluminescence to the study of ionophoretic action. Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence 8, 147-152.
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Simpson, WJ, Fernandez, JL, Hammond, JRM, Senior, PS, McCarthy, BJ, Jago, PH, Sidorowicz, S, Jassim, SAA and Denyer, SP (1990) A highly sensitive assay for adenosine triphosphate employing an improved firefly luciferase reagent. Letters in Applied Microbiology 11, 208-210.
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Jago, PH, Simpson, WJ, Denyer, SP, Evans, AW, Griffiths, MW, Hammond, JRM, Ingram, TP, Lacey, RF, Macey, NW, McCarthy, BJ, Salusbury, TT, Senior, PS, Sidorowicz, S., Smither, R, Stanfield, G and Stanley, PE (1989) An evaluation of the performance of ten luminometers. Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence 3, 131-145.
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Jago, PH, Stanfield, G, Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1989) The effect of extractant and sample composition on the performance of a commercial firefly luciferase reagent. In: Rapid Methods in Microbiology, Society of Applied Bacteriology Technical Series, Volume 26 (Stanley, PE, McCarthy, BJ and Smither, R eds). Blackwells, Oxford, pp. 53-61.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1989) Cold ATP extractants compatible with constant light signal firefly luciferase reagents. In: Rapid Methods in Microbiology, Society of Applied Bacteriology Technical Series, Volume 26 (Stanley, PE, McCarthy, BJ and Smither, R eds). Blackwells, Oxford, pp. 45-52.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1991) The effect of detergents on firefly luciferase reactions. Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence 6, 97-106.
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Simpson, WJ (1991) Shedding light on brewery hygiene. Journal of Biological Education 25, 257-262.
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Simpson, WJ (1999) Developments in ATP technology in the brewing industry. Brewers' Guardian, in press.
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Simpson, WJ (1997) ATP-bioluminescence. Soft Drinks International April 1997, 22 - 23.
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Simpson, WJ (1997) Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. Molecular Reporting with Photons. (Book review). Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence, in press.
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Simpson, WJ (1996) Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. Fundamentals and Applied Aspects. (Book review). Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence,11, 55.
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Simpson, WJ (1990) Rapid Microbiological Methods. In: Proceedings of the Third Aviemore Conference on Malting, Brewing and Distilling (Campbell, I Ed), Institute of Brewing: London. pp. 161-178.
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Simpson, WJ, Hammond, JRM, Thurston, PA and Kyriakides, AL (1989) Brewery process control and the role of 'instant' microbiological techniques. European Brewery Convention, Proceedings of the 22nd Congress, IRL Press, Oxford. pp. 663-674.
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Simpson, WJ (1989) 'Instant' assessment of brewery hygiene using ATP-bioluminescence. Brewers' Guardian 117, 20-22.
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Simpson, WJ (1992) Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. Current Status. (Book review). Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence 7, 75.
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Simpson, WJ (1991) Rapid microbiological methods in the brewery. Brewers' Guardian 120, 30-34.
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Stanley, PE, Smither, R and Simpson, WJ (eds) (1997) A Practical Guide to Industrial Uses of ATP-bioluminescence in Rapid Microbiology. Cara Technology: Lingfield.
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Yeast and fermentation
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Simpson, WJ, Fernandez, JL and Hammond, JRM (1992) Differentiation of brewery yeasts using a disc-diffusion test. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 98, 33-36.
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Simpson, WJ (1987) Kinetic studies of the decontamination of yeast slurries with phosphoric acid and acidified ammonium persulphate and a method for detection of surviving bacteria involving solid medium repair in the presence of catalase. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 93, 313-318.
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Kara, BV, Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1988) Prediction of the fermentation performance of brewing yeast with the acidification power test. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 94, 153-158.
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Peddie, FL, Simpson, WJ, Kara, BV, Robertson, SC and Hammond, JRM (1991) Measurement of endogenous oxygen uptake rates of brewers' yeast. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 97, 21-25.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1989) The response of brewing yeast to acid washing. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 95, 347-354.
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Rowe, SM, Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1991) Spectrophotometric assay of yeast sterols using a polyene antibiotic. Letters in Applied Microbiology 13, 182-185.
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Rowe, SM, Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1994) Intracellular pH of yeast during brewery fermentation. Letters in Applied Microbiology 18, 135-137.
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Simpson, WJ (1998) Management of lager fermentationsa. Brewers' Guardian, in press.
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Rowe, SM, Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1992) Application of filipin for yeast sterol measurement. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Brewing Technology, Harrogate.
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM (1991) A practical guide to the acid washing of brewers' yeast. Ferment 3, 363-365.
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Beer flavour stability
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Ilett, DR, Burke, S and Simpson, WJ (1996) Measurement and prediction of the rate of loss of sulphur dioxide from beer. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 70 337 - 340.
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Walker, MD, Hughes, PS and Simpson, WJ (1996) Use of chemiluminescence HPLC for measurement of hydroperoxy fatty acids during malting and the protein rest stage of mashing. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 70 341 - 346.
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Ilett, DR and Simpson, WJ (1995) Loss of sulphur dioxide during storage of bottled and canned beers. Food Research International, 28, 393-396.
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Simpson, WJ (1999) How to help beer stay fresh - naturally. Proceedings of 7th Convention of the Institute of Brewing Africa Section, in press.
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Simpson, WJ (1996) Flavour instability. Maltsters' problem or brewers' problem. Proceedings of the Barley, Malt and Wort Symposium, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Institute of Brewing (Cent and South Africa Section), pp. 128 - 148
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Templar, J, Arrigan, K and Simpson, WJ (1995) Formation, measurement and control of lightstruck character in beer: a review. Brewers' Digest.
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Miscellaneous
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Simpson, WJ (1992) Neutralization of the antibacterial action of quaternary ammonium compounds with cyclodextrins. FEMS Microbiology Letters 90, 197-200.
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Bamforth, CW and Simpson, WJ (1997) Ionic equilibria in brewing. Brewers' Guardian Russian Edition,. Issue 2, 7 - 15 (in Russian).
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Simpson, WJ and Hughes, PS (1995) Applications of cyclodextrins in brewing technology. European Brewery Convention, Proceedings of the 25th Congress. IRL Press, Oxford, pp. 523-532.
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Simpson, WJ (1996) The Net. A brewers guide to the Internet. Part 2. Brewers' Guardian, 126 (4) 25 - 26.
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Simpson, WJ (1996) The Net. A brewers guide to the Internet. Part 1. Brewers' Guardian, 126 (2), 14 - 17.
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Bamforth, CW and Simpson, WJ (1995) Ionic equilibria in brewing. Brewers' Guardian, 124, 18-24.
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Patents
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM Method for ATP extraction. European Patent Specification 0 309 184 B1. Published 4th August 1993 (and associated US and Japanese patents).
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Simpson, WJ and Hammond, JRM Improved method for an ATP assay with luciferase. British Patent Application no. 8912958.9. Filed 6th June 1989 (subsequently abandoned).
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Simpson, WJ and Pye, JM Method for calibrating adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) assays. British Patent Application no. 9307450.8. Filed 8th April 1994 (and associated US and Japanese patents).
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