HPLC ABSORBANCE DETECTOR WITH RETROREFLECTIVE ARRAY

THE ANSPEC COMPANY, INC. WILL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT A PROTOTYPE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY ULTRAVIOLET/VISIBLE ABSORBANCE DETECTOR, EMPLOYING A RETROREFLECTIVE ARRAY IN THE PHASE CONJUGATE CONFIGURATION. THE ARRAY COMPENSATES FOR STATIC AND DYNAMIC REFRACTIVE ARTIFACTS IN THE OPTICAL TRAIN. THERMO-OPTIC PROPERTIES OF CHROMATOGRAPHIC FLOW CELLS WILL BE EVALUATED IN ORDER TO SPECIFY AN ARRAY CORRECTLY, AND THE OPTICAL SYSTEM WILL BE DESIGNED TO MAXIMIZE LIGHT THROUGHPUT TO THE DETECTOR AND MINIMIZE THE EFFECTS OF NONIDEAL ARRAY PROPERTIES. THE INSTRUMENT WILL EMPLOY ONLY PASSIVE COMPONENTS IN THE OPTICAL TRAIN. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPLETED INSTRUMENT WILL BE EVALUATED AND COMPARED TO THAT OF RECENTLY AVAILABLE ABSORBANCE DETECTORS. THE INFORMATION WILL BE USED TO REFINE THE DESIGN AND PREPARE ENGINEERING PROTOTYPES PRIOR TO COMMERCIAL INTRODUCTION OF THE SYSTEM. IT IS ANTICIPATEDTHAT THE PROPOSED DETECTOR WILL SUPERSEDE CONVENTIONAL ABSORBANCE DETECTORS WHERE QUIET, STABLE OPERATION IS NEEDED.