Where Ultra ends, X begins: Shimadzu introduces XPLC

The pressure on analytical laboratories has never been higher. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) methods running at 3–5 minutes cannot keep pace with screening volumes in drug discovery, environmental monitoring and contract testing laboratories. This is why Shimadzu has taken a different route with the launch of the Nexera X4, and with it a new category: XPLC, or Extreme Performance Liquid Chromatography.

The Nexera X4 is Shimadzu’s modular high-end system built for laboratories that cannot afford interruptions, reruns or wasted solvent. Speed has historically been bought at the expense of peak shape, resolution or signal-to-noise, so many laboratories tolerate longer methods to protect their data. The answer is not a faster UHPLC. Modern laboratories need stable solvent delivery, low dispersion and dependable operation together.

The Nexera X4 answers that with an industry-leading low-dispersion design. Proprietary Nexflow technology minimises system-derived peak broadening without narrowing the flow path, so laboratories gain separation performance without inheriting the blockages and downtime that narrow-bore plumbing usually brings. Behind it sit four independent pressure sensors, four independently actuated plunger drives, four high-pressure solvent selection valves, and gradient stability in 0.4 minutes. Peaks are sharper, gradients are faster and more reproducible, and the system holds its composure at pressures and speeds where others begin to drift.

It is also built for what comes next. Precise solvent delivery at µL/min flow rates makes 1 mm I.D. columns routine, cutting solvent consumption to a fraction of a conventional method and taking running costs down with it. The sharp peaks are maintained from injector to detector, as low-dispersion tubing preserves the sharpness through to the mass spectrometer, making it the analysts choice for a front-end LC.

Where Ultra ends, X begins. The full performance data is worth seeing, and more convincing still on your own samples. To discuss what XPLC could mean for your laboratory, or to arrange a demonstration, contact the team at Shimadzu.