Use of Column Mananger and Solvent Selector Valve to enhance Acquity method development

Daniel
Daniel
in Instrumentation and Mass Spectrometry
<p>Background:</p><p style="height: 8pt"/><p>After reading about the use of a Solvent Selector Valve to expand the rather limited number of lines on the Acquity, I was quite excited to purchase one and connect it to our newest Acquity system that was equipped with a Column Manager. I wanted to assess the feasibility of using the Solvent Selector Valve in combination with the Column Manager for broad automated method screening with four columns, two organic modifiers and six solution at various pH. I then planned on using data mining techniques championed by Waters such as total peaks and total resolution to rapidly assess the data and rank the methods. </p><p style="height: 8pt"/><p>However, after several months of valiant effort I was unable to get the Solvent Selector Valve to work. I would wire the system as described by Waters but the valve would refuse to consistently switch between lines. I replaced the selector, twice. <em><strong>Finally our Waters Service Engineer informed me that there was an ICOP incompatibility between the Sample Manager and the Solvent Selector Valve. I was told that a bug had been identified and would be addressed in a subsequent ICOP revision but until then I would not be able to use the Solvent Selector Valve with our Acquity</strong></em>. Then, to my chagrin, while viewing recently the Web Seminars on the Online Acquity, I noticed another reference to the use of the Solvent Selector to enhance Acquity method development. </p><p style="height: 8pt"/><p>Question:</p><p>Has anyone successfully configured a Solvent Selector Valve with an Acquity Sample Manager (ICOP Firmware Version 1.30)? </p>

Answers

  • lizh
    lizh

    Daniel:

    It appears that there has been a miscommunication, for which I do apologize. There is no requirement for any new software for this configuration to work, as we do have customers successfully running with this valve today. (Hopefully they can confirm) and we use in our own labs.

    However, is true that Waters lately identified a hardware problem on some sample managers that affected the operation of the trigger events, but we need only to change your SM board and you can be successful. I am guessing this is probably the issue that you have in fact encountered.

    We can provide a presentation explaining the setup of this fully and in the case of Empower a template project to assist you in avoiding some of the labor of setting up the methods, simply edit from the template. However, first we need to expedite a board and would propose that we speak directly with your local FSE. Please let me know who I should contactin an email and we can address this promptly.

    Liz

  • Daniel
    Daniel

    Liz,

    Thank you for the prompt reply. Our Field Service Engineers are Todd Rentfrow and Steve Peterson. Matt Spletzer is the Regional Service Manager. I have forwarded your response to all of them. If you could forward details of the SM board replacement as well as the Empower template I would greatly appreciate it.

    Thank you again. I'm looking forward to using the Solvent Selector if we can get it to work.

    Sincerely,

    Daniel Stamp

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