Sequence or Sample? The (Petro)chemical Paradigm!

[barbara-vancann]

Whenever you think about a chromatographic analysis it’s easy to think about the sample, including the corresponding injections, like blanks, calibration standards and check standards, combined in one sequence. This whole package, the sequence, is regarded as the data set, without which sample results cannot be reported. While this is important in certain markets, like (bio)pharma, this is not always the case.

In the (petro) chemical industry, software requirements, including those for the chromatography data system, or CDS, are different from other markets. You can read more here. When looking at analyzing a sample, this is JUST the sample. The analytical methods and hardware used require minimal method re-calibration; a regular injection of a check standard is enough to confirm the validity of the calibration and injecting a sample provides the result. When a sample comes in, just this sample must be analyzed, nothing more, nothing less.

In addition, one analyst in the lab can be responsible for many instruments and the analysis often requires manual interaction with the instrument, like loading a gas cylinder containing the sample. Therefore, everything centers around the instrument, not the sequence. Also, the CDS is not only used in the laboratory, but also in the process plant. This means that there are not only trained analysts working with the software but also, for example, process operators or plant managers.

With the release of Thermo Scientific™ Chromeleon™ 7.3 CDS there is a new feature assisting (petro)chemical laboratories:- the Instruments Overview. With analysts being responsible for many instruments it is key that they can instantly see the status of all instruments at one glance. When samples need to be manually loaded onto the system, monitoring multiple instruments can mean a lot of clicking back and forth, but with the Instruments Overview, the status of all the analyst’s favorite instruments is visible at once.

This new functionality provides a more instrument-centric workflow, as opposed to everything being centered on the data and sequences. From the Instruments Overview, new sample analysis can be started with just two clicks, made possible by new options in Chromeleon software’s eWorkflow™ procedures. The instrument control panels and analysis queue can also be directly accessed from here and from the analysis queue it is now possible to directly access the data to see your result. You no longer need to go to the data category. Now Chromeleon 7.3 software solves the (petro)chemical paradigm!

PS: Charlie chats about this topic soon – Keep an eye on Charlie’s Facebook page and AnalyteGuru.