Equipment Roundup: Latest News from Shimadzu, ACD Labs

Shimadzu’s New i-Series for Intelligent, Automated HPLC

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (Columbia, Maryland) recently announced the launch of the i-Series LC-2070/LC-2080 Integrated High-Performance Liquid Chromatographs (HPLC), the latest evolution of its i-Series line. “Building on the proven performance, speed, and user-friendly design of previous i-Series models,” the accompanying press release (1) noted, “the new LC-2070/LC-2080 systems deliver enhanced robustness, superior data reliability and next-generation automation in a compact, tabletop format.”

The i-Series is equipped with Shimadzu’s trademarked Analytical Intelligence, a suite of smart functions that were developed to ensure optimized performance from start-up to shut-down. These functions include automated bubble detection and resolution, self-diagnostics, predictive maintenance and recovery tools, all designed to reduce downtime and minimize operator workload.

The system introduces a new integrated column management platform (iCMP), for tracking column usage (1). When paired with Shimadzu’s LabSolutions CS and LabSolutions Direct software, the press release states that “users can securely access data and control instruments remotely from smart devices, ideal for flexible or hybrid work environments.” (1)

“The i-Series LC-2070/LC-2080,” the press release concludes, “is ideal for quality control, research and development and standard testing across diverse industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, food and environmental.” (1)

ACD/Labs Releases Spectrus and Percepta 2025 with Enhanced Data Integration and AI-Ready Tools

ACD/Labs (Toronto, Canada) recently announced the widespread release of version 2025 of their software on the Spectrus and Percepta platforms (2). Spectrus, the release states, provides multi-technique analytical data processing and management (nuclear magnetic resonance [NMR], liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry [LC-MS], optical, and chromatography), assembly of standardized chemical and analytical data, workflow automation, and digitalization.

“We are not just adding new features with this release,” said Andrew Anderson, ACD/Labs’ vice president of Innovation & Informatics Strategy in a press release. “We’re strengthening the ability for scientists to interrogate and share their data, and empowering organizations to leverage that data in a standardized, AI-ready format. We will continue to develop our technologies to support the digitalization goals of our customers with facile data assembly, deeper integrations, and more accessible automation tools.” (2)

The expanded hardware and software integrations in Spectrus software will help data flow across R&D organizations. This latest version brings improvements to the company’s low-code no-code automation application (their trademarked Spectrus Conduit) which enables organizations to control and expand automated workflows (2).

Furthermore, Version 2025 of Spectrus Platform applications offer, according to the press release, “enhanced analytical data interpretation including improved peptide fragmentation; greater control over data processing; and labelling enhancements for mass spectral and chromatographic data that enable scientists to record interpretations in a scientifically intuitive manner. Reporting has also seen improvements for better documentation and communication of results. This version also introduces integrable third-party AI-tools for synthetic reaction screening and optimization (2).

According to the company, the Percepta Platform software enhances prediction accuracy by continually expanding its training sets, improving estimates for solubility, logP (and the related pH-dependent logD), as well as cardiotoxicity indicators such as AMES outcomes (2).

References

1. Shimadzu Introduces i-Series LC-2070/LC-2080 Integrated HPLC Systems. Shimadzu website. https://www.ssi.shimadzu.com/news/2025-11-10-shimadzu-introduces-i-series-lc-2070-lc-2080-integrated-hplc-systems.html (accessed 2025-11-19)
2. ACD/Labs Announces Version 2025 of Software on Its Spectrus® & Percepta® Platforms. ACD/Labs press release. https://www.acdlabs.com/resource/acd-labs-announces-version-2025-of-software-on-its-spectrus-percepta-platform (issued 2025-11-19)