Improving fraction purity and yields from preparative liquid chromatography

The Prep Flowmeter from Testa Analytical is a new compact device for continuous monitoring of preparative HPLC purification and downstream processing systems.

Preparative liquid chromatography is a trusted method for applications including purification of chiral drugs, fingerprinting of peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, and purification of fine chemicals. Capable of precise monitoring of liquid flow rates of up to 650ml/minute in real time, the Prep Flowmeter is an ideal tool for monitoring preparative scale systems used to produce larger quantities of pure compounds.

The necessity for such a device arises from the frequent use of fraction collectors with preparative liquid chromatography systems. Collection of different fractions is typically driven by volume measurement. Therefore, being able to precisely measure absolute flow rate can improve the purity of separated compounds. Also, knowledge of exact flow rate can also help optimisation of the collection process thus improving the yield of individual fractions. In addition to process optimisation, the Prep Flowmeter can also be used for periodic performance validation and troubleshooting problems with your preparative liquid chromatography system.

The Prep Flowmeter is conveniently sized and powers itself from a USB connection. The device uses a thermal flow sensor that is not only extremely accurate, sensitive, and high-resolution – but it also offers the advantage of being non-invasive. As the sensor does not interfere with your process measurement it can operate over a wide dynamic range.

An easy-to-use PC based App allows continuous recording and storage of the measured flow rates. The current flow rate is also displayed on the integral high-resolution OLED display, allowing easy control of current flow value. The device also offers communications data buffering to ensure that no data is lost even if the device temporarily loses connection to your PC.

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