Waters UltraPerformance Convergence Chromatography Ushers in New Category of Separation Science at Pittcon

Waters Corporation drew back the curtain on several important new technologies and a new business venture at Pittcon 2012, the industry’s most important annual new product conference and exhibition.

Topping Waters technology introductions is Waters® ACQUITY UPC(2)™ System, a new category of separations science instrumentation that gives laboratories previously unavailable options for tackling tough analytical challenges.

Waters also unveiled NuGenesis® 8 featuring LE (Laboratory Execution) Technologies, a comprehensive data management and workflow solution that more effectively connects organizations’ analytical laboratory data systems to their business information technology systems.

In addition, Waters launched a new product line of analytical standards and reagents consisting of an initial portfolio of more than 200 pre-formulated reference materials and reagents for the scientific laboratory. The introductions reflect customer demands for greater problem-solving capability, greater efficiency, and certifiable data quality.

“This is the 53rd year for Waters at Pittcon. It is still the signature event of the year for Waters and for our industry. No other event can compare to it in terms of the scale of innovation one sees on the exposition floor and in terms of the opportunity to interact with customers and educate new generations of scientists in the art and science of analytical chemistry,” said Art Caputo, President of the Waters Division. “The launch of UPC(2), NuGenesis 8 and our new line of analytical standards and reagents make this year’s Pittcon one of the most exciting in years for us.”

Waters Introduces Industry-First UltraPerformance Convergence Chromatography System

Waters today ushered in a new category of separation science with the introduction of Waters ACQUITY UPC(2) System which expands the boundaries of reversed phase liquid chromatography (LC) and of gas chromatography (GC) separations and offers a replacement option for normal phase chromatography applications. Employing the principle of UltraPerformance Convergence Chromatography™ (UPC(2)), Waters ACQUITY UPC(2) System is a novel analytical system that gives laboratories an indispensable tool for tackling tough-to-analyze compounds including hydrophobic and chiral compounds, lipids, thermally-labile samples and polymers.

“ACQUITY UPC(2) took on every challenge we threw at it. At one point, we ran a very challenging 18-compound mixture, including amines, vitamin isomers, steroids, and antibacterial agents – all in one mixture,” said Harbaksh Sidhu, UPC(2) Program Director, Waters Division. “The results were astounding. We saw repeatability, narrow, consistent peak widths, all in a gradient mode of operation with extremely low baseline noise. The low system volume along with small particle size column is the result of a holistic design that unlocks the benefits of using compressed CO2 that have never been realized before. As someone who's been working with this technology for more than 18 years, I had never witnessed this level of performance before.”

Compressed carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary mobile phase for UPC(2), offers numerous major advantages over liquid mobile phases or carrier gases that are used with LC and GC. For one, CO2  alone, or combined with a co-solvent, is a low viscosity mobile phase that achieves higher diffusion rates and enhanced mass transfer than liquids used in HPLC. For another, when compared to GC, CO2 alone is a mobile phase that allows separations to occur at a much lower temperature.

Scientists can routinely separate compounds that are less amendable to analysis by LC and GC including molecules having a wide range of polarities.

Along with industry leading sub two-micron particle technology column chemistries, Waters ACQUITY UPC(2) System gives scientists the ability to precisely vary mobile phase strength, pressure, and temperature. With this ability to fine-tune the resolving power and selectivity of the system, scientists can exercise better control over the retention of analytes for separating, detecting and quantifying structural analogs, isomers, and enantiomeric and diasteriomeric mixtures – all compounds that are often a challenge to separate by any other means. A key benefit of the Waters ACQUITY UPC(2) System is the use of inexpensive and non-toxic compressed CO2 as a primary mobile phase that can take the place of toxic and volatile organic solvents that are extremely expensive to purchase and dispose.