Low Cost Data Acquisition Kit For Pharmacia Fplc, Replacing Rec; Lkb Amersham Ge

US $564

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
May 30th

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Pharmacia FPLC systems are reliable but old, whose original 90s software is hard to find and requires old-old OS. If you don't have it set up already, forget about it. The only option was to use Pharmacia chart recorder such as REC-102. Not any more -- here I show you a low cost data acquisition system that can run on a Window PC in real time to record FPLC runs. What should you have already? -- A functional FPLC system, either a full gradient system or a simple isocratic system. A monitor such as UV-1 is a must, with a two-wire signal output. A fraction collector such as FRAC-200 is important for elute collection, with an event mark output (to mark the fraction tubes). If you are using a gradient controller such as LCC-501 Plus, there is an output for %B. -- A PC that runs Window XP, Vista, 7, or 8. Not Mac -- too bad as I'm also good with Mac hardware. But you can also run Window on Mac -- a different topic. A cheap old PC should do. What does the kit include? -- A slightly modified low cost data acquisitor at a size of a pocket dictionary, with USB cable connecting to the PC and two-wire cables for signal input. -- A CD containing softwares (they are freely downloadable from the manufacture of the data acquisitor) -- A PDF file for setup and instruction. How does it work? Let me explain Pharmacia recorder first. There are two-channel/pen models such as REC-102, with one pen recording signal such as UV plus the event mark of the fraction, and the other for gradient %B. One-pen models such as REC-101 just aren't used for gradient %B. Now have a look of my screenshot pict -- low resolution by eBay uploading; contact me if you need the original pict emailed. It's a short 10 min run for illustration, left bordered by a vertical line and right bordered by a half vertical line. Each horizontal division is for 20 sec. The blue UV signal shows a real protein peak then a manually introduced "protein plateau". The red line shows %B, starting at 0% (setting near the half height in order to see the downward spikes) for 2.5 min then going linear gradient till 100% near the top. The downward spikes are the fraction event marks. The first marks the initiation of the fraction collector. The fraction collector was connected with the UV signal and a threshold was set to collect peak elute only. That's what happened for the two groups of spikes/fractions, corresponding to the protein peak and "plateau". Now you have all three signals covered -- UV, fraction, and B%. You don't need Pharmacia recorder anymore! Pro Digitized record. No more consumables -- pens and chart paper are quite expensive from GE. If the FPLC is set up in a cold room, you may use a long USB cable and put the PC outside or even at your desk -- conveniently monitoring the run in real time. Low cost. Con The software is not developed for FPLC. It lacks good X-Y labels although you may add mark/comment from the softwares easily. (Maybe I didn't poke the software around long enough.) But FPLC readout is not complicated. It's sufficient once you run a few times and get used to the layout. The drawback of this low cost unit is the noise level -- limited by the signal resolution of the acquisitor; see the UV baseline. My real UV signal has a much lower noise level -- maybe one magnitude less. With ~$300 more, I may change the acquisitor to a high resolution one. As Pharmacia UV monitors have good amplification selections, this may not be a huge issue. Contact me if you have any question. I may explain in further details by phone. This would be especially helpful if you have any concern of the signal resolution. I may ask you to do a simple measurement of your UV signal to determine if this kit is suitable for your application. International buyer must contact me first for actual shipping cost.