Hi everyone,

I am researching the needs of HPLC practitioners in order to deliver products that people want at the lowest possible cost and best quality.

I am interested in building a rock-solid low-cost reliable system that satisfies the critical needs of most HPLC users.

My question to the group is: what do you look for most in an HPLC system? Don't miss this chance to get what you really need!

Is it...

Ease of use?

Name brand?

Low cost of ownership?

Data compatability?

Reproducibility?

Low maintainence?

A variety of detectors?

A good autosampler?

Anything else?

hi bob

just selecting one point from your list is very difficult. but i will try to elaborate on your list as per my personal experience..i have tried to allot a number to each point in a scale of 1 to 10....hope this helps.

Ease of use? (8 out of 10)
yes..definitely...i would like to have the check valves or other parts which have to be cleaned, located in a convenient place of the instrument..so that they can be easily removed without having to twist my fingers into some strange angle..!!!

Name brand? (5 out of 10)
it depends....major brands will defenitely have a bigger say...depends on how u can convince the customer about the performance of your instrument and very importantly about AFTER SALES SERVICE.

Low cost of ownership? (8 out of 10)
Yes...main point from the budget point of view.

Data compatability? (4 out of 10)
Will be a great boon to have this feature..especially if the lab has different brands.

Reproducibility? (10 out of 10)
The most important feature..absolute must...that is why the customer will buy the instrument.

Low maintainence? (8 out of 10)
yes..budget comes into play again

A variety of detectors? (5 out of 10)
At least UV and PDA should be available.

A good autosampler? (8 out of 10)
Yes..this point will probably be an extention of the "Reproducibility?"

Anything else?
Software should comply to the regulatory requirements.
After sales service is a very important part..I have seen very good instruments rendered useless due to bad servicing.
The look of the insrtument is also a factor from the marketing point of view.

phew!..that was one long mail.
take care

Bob,
You should lease an Agilent 1100 (Binary or Quat) and study the entire system. It is rock-solid hardware. Chemstation is on it's last legs,but it still gets the job done w/o crashing too much.

As a person working in clinical research, the things that I would look for when purchasing a new HPLC system would include the following [not an exclusive list! ;o) ]

Ease of maintenance - don't want to have to call out an engineer for routine servicing and repairs (pump check valve, seals or piston replacement; changing lamps etc.)

Good after sales service esp. a long warranty.

Autosampler - tray temperature control is a must.

Small footprint - space in lab is at a premium, the smaller the better!

UV Detector sensitivity - as someone who always seems to be working at the LOQ, a sensitive detector is essential. I don't mind paying more for a detector if it really does perform better than others on the market.

As bookoon says, reproducibility is of paramount importance.

Good luck with creating your new system :o)

I work in a post-doc research environment. To the above comments I'd like to add:

Low maintenance: A simple system I think works more reliable than one with lots of blinking lights, ether-net cables, and sensor diodes.

Simple software: Most labs do testing where quality assurance is needed. However, I don't need a system that bogs down the computer with cumbersome validation features that disrupts versatility, editing methods, and sequences on the run.
Also, an easy manner to cut/paste data from the software into a Word, Powerpoint, or Excel (esp. the raw data points) is a major plus.

Multiple column compartments: A feature allowing perhaps 6 different columns on the system with 6 different solvent choices would be great. This works well with multiple users all adding samples to an overnight sequence without stepping on each other's toes.

Well my part was easy, now you got the hard part...I wish you well in developing this system.

Build quality is my single most important criterion. I expect my machine to operate within specifications for long periods of time with minimal disruption and I want to PLAN those disruptions. Having a machine that's easy to work on is less important to me than having a machine that I don't have to work on frequently. I'm lucky in that I am the only one in the lab that uses the LC's and they are completely my resposibility. I maintain my instruments well and they gather good quality data with tremendous reliabilty. I also expect the manufacturer to stand behind their instruments for a long time from the standpoint of parts availability and service because I intend to use them for a long time. An HPLC is not a small investment and part of getting my money's worth is being able to expect a system to run for a good, long time - 15 years contant use at a minimum. A service engineer that is readily accessible, arrives quickly when called, and knows what he or she is doing is a good thing as well. Well written and thorough documentation, manuals, and web-support are big plusses, too.

I want my software to be rugged and flexible - don't crash my computer constantly, let me control, monitor, and record all important system parameters from the PC, and give me all of the "bells and whistles" as far as data processing, archiving, and reporting. Simplicity and ease of use are great, but less important to me - I'm not in a QC environment and would feel limited with a dumbed-down setup.

Merely my $0.02...

CJ

CJ is in a privileged position of being the sole user of his systems. We have multiple users. You cannot underestimate the value of not having spectroscopists using your LC systems. The word 'unbreakable' is not in those suckers' dictionary!
John

True...I am lucky, but when something does get screwed up, everyone knows whose fault it is!

Actually, next week my decade as a lone chromatographer is coming to a close. I'm hiring some help in the form of a GC exepert who wishes to change fields and learn LC. In exchange, she can run my GC/MS, which unfortulately spends too much time doing nothing. A good deal for everyone, methinks!

CJ

Can you see a system and software that is both easy for the lone chromatographer and satisfies the needs of a validated system in QC?

If so, what can you tell me that would help?

If you want to put data into Excel, PowerPoint, etc. take a look at Chrom Merge (www.ChromMerge.com)