BASF shows sensitivity of LabLogic's Active Counting Mode
4 January 2012
Experiments carried out by the Agricultural Products Division of BASF have confirmed the superior performance of LabLogic Systems'’ Beta-RAM 5 radio-detector when used in the new Active Counting Mode (ACM).
"The sensitivity of the radio-detector is crucial in shortening some processing procedures in many kinds of 14C studies," explains Keith Hall, product manager for LabLogic’s Laura chromatography system that controls the Beta-RAM. "For example, it is widely accepted that direct injection is the most effective method for analysing low sample counts, and BASF has shown how that can be done with our Beta-RAM 5 in ACM mode equipped with a liquid cell."
"Although the Beta-RAM 5 in Standard Mode is satisfactory for much routine work, in difficult cases ACM generates chromatograms with peaks that are clearly defined against surrounding noise, which equates to a superior signal to noise ratio and a much-improved Limit Of Detection (LOD)."
The ACM system actively monitors run conditions and optimises them in real time ensuring that optimal performance in terms of signal to noise ratio and resolution are maintained at all times.
Dr Huns Nejad, senior research associate at the BASF Agricultural Products Division at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, describes the company’s experience of Beta-RAM 5 with ACM:
"We were interested in determining the sensitivity of the instrument with particular reference to our own work and have found it impressive under a wide range of different conditions," he says. "That includes studies of both soil and water with either direct or concentrated injection onto the column, and at many different rates between 1109 and 63231 dpm."
"In brief, we have concluded that, compared with standard radio-chromatography, LabLogic’s ACM gives improved peak shape (even in the case of closely eluting peaks), optimised noise reduction, superior signal-to-noise ratio and enhanced Limit Of Detection."
A poster exhibited at the Global Environmental and Consumer Safety Meeting in Williamsburg, USA in April 2011, which shows some of BASF’s ACM chromatograms, can be seen here.