Dutch contract research organisation Notox BV has installed a BetaRAM 4 radio flow-through detector and Laura 4 data collection and analysis software from LabLogic Systems at its Hertogenbosch laboratories.
The investment has allowed the company to standardise its radio HPLC facilities by using Laura to control both the BetaRAM and an existing flow-through radio detector from another manufacturer.
Notox analytical chemist Klaas Stienstra explained the need for the instrument: 'Our environmental fate studies are generally performed with radio-labelled compounds,' he said, 'so our radio-lab is fully equipped to perform mass balance studies using LSC, as well as to determine the formation of relevant metabolites by chromatographic separation on TLC and/or HPLC in combination with radio-detection.
'We chose the Beta-RAM 4 because it has a low background level and a high efficiency, which makes it ideal for detecting low concentrations of radio-labelled compounds. Combining the detector with Laura makes it a powerful analytical tool for metabolite analysis. The easy exchange of flow-cells, which we need when analysis is done by the high speed LC (UPLC) that Notox specialises in, also influenced our preference.'
