The QuantaSep® Hardware
(A) 8 selectable buffer ports - Manifold of four pnuematically
actuated diaphragm valves on each pump to provide flexibility.
(B) Two precision positive displacement pumps - Each at 50-5000 ml/min
are used to allow one to purify small and large amounts using the same
unit.
(C) Inline DP sensors - The discharge of both pumps is manifolded
together to a static mixer for effective gradient formation
(D) Inline prefiltering capability - A manifild of sanitary valves
with DP sensors enables the attachment of a prefilter for debris or particular
removal pre-column
(E) Optional pH and conductivity sensors - Can monitor pre-column pH
and conductivity of buffers or load material. This helps prevent loading of
wrong buffers and hence loss of product.
(F) Auto air eject - An "active air trap" consisting of an
air sensor and three-way air ejection valve continuously detects and removes
unwanted air before the column thus preventing loss of raw material and valuable
production time.
(G) Column forward/reverse capability - The flow is directed to the
column through a valve manifold, which can route flow to the column in a
forward, reverse or bypass mode for flexibility in your product.
(H) Post column sensors - Consist of a single flow cell capable of UV
dual-wavelength (280 and 254 nm) detection and pH and conductivity detection.
Minimize hold up volume of sensor lag time.
(I) 6 user selectable fraction ports - Fractions can be collected via
a manifold compromising of 6 pneumatically actuated valves.
Fluid Handling Module
The fluid handling module contains: 2 pump assemblies consisting of four (4)
positive displacement metering pump heads, static mixer, and silicone tubing.
These are connected with sanitary clamp connections to diaphragm shielded
pneumatic valves, UV, pH, leak, conductivity, temperature and pressure sensors,
air sensor, air purge valve, sanitary inlets, outlets and column connections.
The components are mounted inside an enclosed stainless steel cabinet with a
trough to which is attached a leak detector.
Controls Module
The controls module contains all power supplies, transformers, valve
activation pneumatics, brainboards, sensor controls and circuit boards, alarm
controls, sensor electronics including A/D and D/A converters and fuse assembly.
The external chart recorder interface, status LED's, an emergency stop switch,
cables, computer interface, fuse blocks, etc are included.
The QuantaSep® Software
The Right Combination of Simplicity and Power
The simplicity of the QuantaSep® interactive graphical user interface gives
the system its efficiency and power by making it easy to use and learn. The main
screen below displays a flow diagram of the system with all the main components
and their real time status quickly and easily. By simply clicking the mouse, you
can open or close a valve, stop or start a pump, set new flow rates, collect
fractions and perform other system operations all from your work station.
Intuitive Protocol Design
Programming is simple. Open the method editor by clicking on the icon on the
tool bar. Then key in steps in the table, stepping through different buffers and
changing buffer or fraction steps based on UV, conductivity, pH or air. Simply
click on the gradient box and choose your gradient profile. Click on the event
box and zero the UV baseline before you load your product or program in a pause
before you start eluting your product!
Security
The multi-levels of password protection restrict access to the system. For
instance, an operator may have provision to run a method but not change the
parameters; only the supervisor may be given that responsibility. In another
instance, only the QA or metrology group may have access to setting calibration
parameters. The security administrator in the software can enable all this and
more.
CGMP Documentation and Data Analysis
All events manual or automatic (including deviations) are recorded to the
batch log. Reports consisting of the method, buffers used, all alarms and
events, chromatogram data and analysis can be printed or archived as part of the
batch log. The Instant Data Analysis helps do a quick check of an ongoing
process against baseline data hence preventing possible losses.
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