HPLC Flowmeter Approved by Prestigious Chinese Metrology Institute

Testa Analytical Solutions, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, recently announced that the Beijing-based National Institute of Metrology of China (NIM) has endorsed its high-precision high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) flowmeter (1). The flowmeter, Testa said in a press release, was compared favorably as an alternative to more traditional flow calibration methods for HPLC pumps, as defined by the National Metrology Verification Regulations of the People’s Republic of China.

In a previous release, Testa said this real-time flowmeter, along with its validation software, was designed in tandem for the automatic validating of HPLC, ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC), or gel permeation chromatography, also known as size-exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC), pumps (2). The compact LC flowmeter is compatible with all common solvents and is powered by USB connection, according to Testa, and provides continuous, non-invasive monitoring of pump performance.

The approval of this flowmeter comes shortly after the end of LCGC International’s yearly cycle of new LC column and accessory release reviews, as “Column Watch” editor David S. Bell recounted in the May issue of the publication (3).

This flowmeter is the latest in a string of new Testa products released in 2024, joining a triple detector for GPC/SEC and a multi-angle light scattering (MALS) detector for GPC.

NIM, established in 1955, is China's highest research facility of measurement science, according to its website, and its reach extends from the scientific and technological to the social and economic.

The Testa HPLC flowmeter features a high-resolution thermal flow sensor that the manufacturer touted as both extremely sensitive and accurate. While the traditional flow calibration method that Testa referenced, based on gravimetric determination of average flow, usually takes around 1 h (60 min) for completion of calibration, NIM confirmed to Testa that its flowmeter was able to return precise flow rates within 1 sec—results which were judged to be consistent with the previously used gravimetric method (1).

The PC-based app supplied with the flowmeter allows users to continuously record and store flow rate data from their HPLC systems, Testa said in the press release.

References

(1) Chinese Metrology Institute Approves Testa HPLC Flowmeter. Testa Analytical Solutions, 2024. https://testa-analytical.com/news/news70.html (accessed 2024-05-23).

(2) Liquid Chromatography Pump Performance Validation. LCGC International. MJH Life Sciences, 2024. https://www.chromatographyonline.com/view/liquid-chromatography-pump-performance-validation (accessed 2024-05-23).

(3) Bell, D. S. Evolutions in Particle, Surface Chemistry, and Hardware Designs: New Liquid Chromatography (LC) Columns and Accessories for 2024. LCGC International 2024, 1 (5), 14–22. DOI: 10.56530/lcgc.int.fp6887j6