Robust Instrumentation for Glycobiology Research

Metrohm has released new instrumentation for the study of carbohydrates. The 871 Bioscan with pulsed amperometric detector (PAD) is an extremely robust system to determine both whether a particular carbohydrate is present in a sample and absolute concentrations of carbohydrates. Ion chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection has been used for quite a while as a technique to study carbohydrates. However, the ruggedness of the detector has sometimes been unsatisfactory. Recent developments by Metrohm in hardware

design have addressed this challenge and resulted in the 871 Bioscan. Thorough testing has proved this instrument’s ruggedness and capability to produce long-term stable quality results that meet the demands of modern glycobiology.

In the test, a 871 Bioscan was programmed to run over a period of 10-hour analysis of 60 injections, shut down for a period of 5 hours, restart and run another 10-hour analysis involving 60 injections. It performed these functions without fail for the entire 30-day test period. As for method ruggedness, the study confirmed that crucial parameters, such as drift of peak area, retention time and concentration were all within the accepted limits of up to 5% drift over time. The result of the study shows that not only can glycobiologists rely on the 871 Bioscan to perform under tough conditions but to do so while consistently yielding reliable results.