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Lab Life-Line
A Short Newsletter For The Busy Analytical Lab
From ACCTA, Inc. |
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"Should You Upgrade to UHPLC?"
UHPLC will not benefit everyone, but is it right for your lab?
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Upgrade to UHPLC?
UHPLC can provide a significant improvement in lab productivity by reducing analysis time, but there is a cost, and not everyone needs to upgrade to a UHPLC system.
When do you need UHPLC?
- If your lab routinely must analyze more than 50 samples per instrument per day. This assumes you have a 10 minute analysis time, allowing six per hour, or about 50 in an eight hour day. UHPLC can easily reduce your analysis by at least a factor of 3X to 6X, assuming your current method uses a standard 15 cm column.
- You have a very complex sample type (e.g., protein digestate or complex set of impurities) and your current method is either not providing enough resolution or is too long (e.g., >15 minutes).
What are the costs?
- The UHPLC costs more than a conventional HPLC. The difference may be at least $40,000 USD.
- Parts are more expensive and may require more frequent replacement.
- The instruments have been optimized to reduce volumes, and the columns are smaller, with smaller particle sizes. This means that the system is more sensitive to particulates. You must be more careful about filtering EVERYTHING that goes into the instrument - mobile phase, mobile phase additives, and samples.
Do NOT upgrade if:
- You plan to just transfer your exising method to a UHPLC system. Many of these high performance systems may actually not work at the low pressures generated by some columns, and you are spending more money for the instrument.
- You do not want to update your method and column to a modern alternative.
What are the alternatives?
- Upgrade to a better, but not UHPLC column. Modern 3 um particles can give you much better separations in less time.
- Upgrade to an "equivalent" UHPLC column that does not require higher pressures. Modern solid core particles give you UHPLC-like performance at much lower pressures. You may be able to use these columns on your existing instruments, althought some minor upgrades may be necessary.
At ACCTA, Inc. we have years of experience with this method conversion process. We have been talking about this for years! And our new
column screening service is another great way to start the upgrading process.
Contact us for more details. We would love to help you.
Note: you can also get more information about upgrading in some of our training classes (see next section).
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Don't forget about our upcoming
public training options:
Practical Guide to Reversed Phase LC
28 February 2018
Pittcon (Orlando, FL)
This comprehensive course on reversed phase LC will help you understand and use this important technique. We will explain why all C18 columns are not the same, and give you some general suggestions about how to choose a different column. And if you need to optimize your method, of course we can help you. Our discussion of critical variables and conversion to UHPLC are just what you need. The course is filled with case studies and real-world examples. Join us in Orlando to learn more.
You can have some or all of this content presented at your lab. More details are
here.
What To Do When C18 Doesn't Work?
1 March 2018 (1/2 day)
Pittcon (Orlando, FL)
While C18 columns solve many separation problems, they cannot effectively separate all compounds. So what do you do now? Register for this short overview and get an introduction to other separation options. We will make extensive use of case studies to illustrate what options are available for you. You will not find this information conveniently organized from any other source.
Chicago LC School
Des Plaines, IL
March, 2018
We think this is one of the most useful introductory LC classes available. It includes two days of interactive lecture and a lab day where students get to explore HPLC through a fun method development challenge. We get great reviews. Join us to see why.
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Thought For The Day
"The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world."
– Max Born, develeoper of quantum mechanics
On the occasion of his 135th birthday |
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Contact Details:
Merlin K. L. Bicking, Ph. D.
Senior Analytical Scientist and President
Phone: +1 (651) 731-3670
Email:
info@accta.com
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