Darmstadt, Germany, November 13, 2017 – Merck, a leading science and technology company, today launched the new Stericup® Quick Release 500 ml vacuum filtration system, a filter bottle system ideally suited for sterile filtration of cell culture media, buffers and reagents.

The Stericup® Quick Release system is the next generation of the original Stericup® Sterile Vacuum Filtration System, which has been a staple in labs around the world for decades. The improved liquid sterile filtration system offers ergonomic design updates that optimize user control and streamline the filtration process, while safeguarding results with the proven performance of Millipore® membranes.

“Life science researchers are under pressure to deliver innovative and reproducible results at an ever-increasing pace and with greater returns. Even seemingly routine processes like microfiltration must be reliable and consistent, because quality and reproducibility are critical to the cell culture process,” said Klaus Bischoff, Head of the Research Solutions business, Life Science, at Merck.

Merck’s Stericup® Quick Release system not only mitigates inherent pain points experienced by scientists during sterile filtration, like concerns over maintaining sterility and spillage, but also streamlines the overall process while establishing a foundation for reliability, consistency and confidence for steps downstream.

The Stericup® Quick Release combines a Steritop® filter unit with a re-designed Stericup® receiver bottle for storage of sterilized media, buffers and other liquid, and is offered in sizes in the 150 to 1000mL volume range with multiple membrane materials and pore sizes ideal for the range of requirements. The Stericup® Quick Release system incorporates design enhancements that improve the user experience, including:

The “Quick Release” filter funnel disconnects from the receiver bottle with just a quarter turn, reducing the likelihood of spillage and making it easier to manipulate on the bench or under the hood.

While changes to Merck’s Stericup® filter provide an enhanced user experience, the membranes inside the filter remain the same, ensuring reliable filtration and confidence in downstream analysis, assay development and scientific reproducibility. Millipore® membranes are quality-tested and quality-validated for performance, and provide reliable filtration with high flow rates, low protein binding and low fluid retention, minimal fouling and assurance of sterility.

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About Merck

Merck is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life – from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2016, Merck generated sales of €15 billion in 66 countries.

Founded in 1668, Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck holds the global rights to the “Merck” name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials.