New radio-HPLC detector off to a flying start

02/12/2009

The horizontal ‘black box’ version of the Beta-RAM 5. It is also available with a white finish and to a vertical format, to suit customer's’ preferences.

LabLogic Systems reports an enthusiastic response from pharmaceutical development companies and contract research organisations to the new Beta-RAM 5 radio-HPLC flow-through detector.

Just six months after its launch, sales of the instrument in Japan and the USA are already into double figures, and further orders are expected from radiochromatographers who attended recent demonstrations.

"The BetaRAM has long been the industry’s detector of choice because of its sensitivity and reliability. It’s clear that the Model 5 will further strengthen its position in the marketplace," says sales manager Elvir Zahirovic.

"One of the main attractions for those who are investing early is that the instrument has been designed so that they can make the best use of the latest UHPLC methodologies. To that end, the tubing, mixing components and low dead-volume fittings have all been optimised for low flow rates to ensure optimum peak shape and definition."

"Also important are two new features available with the Beta-RAM 5. First is the on-board Stop Flow facility, which makes time-consuming and costly liquid scintillation counting of low-level samples a thing of the past. Instead, Stop Flow (in combination with Laura™ radiochromatography software) optimises the counting time in the detector flow cell."

"The second feature is the unique and proprietary Active Counting Mode, which complements the latest UHPLC methodologies by using a simplified heterodyne model to monitor and adjust run conditions in real time. This gives better signal-to-noise ratios for low-level samples than are possible with conventional radio HPLC."