Top 5 Questions You Should Ask When Buying a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer

1. For what applications will you be using the instrument for? This will help you determine the detection range you require. Don’t forget to consider future applications that may require a broader range.
2. What range of stray light performance are you comfortable with for your application and budget?
3. Consider what sort of samples you’ll be working with in order to determine what absorbance range you will need in your UV-Vis spectrophotometer. For example, if it is a turbid or concentrated liquid or a solid sample that is optically thick, you may require a working absorbance range between 5 Å and 8 Å or higher.
4. What level of throughput and reliability do you need?
5. How much will the instrument cost? Don’t forget to factor in the cost of maintenance, etc. along with the cost of acquisition.

Types of UV-Vis spectrophotometers used by survey respondents:

According to survey respondents, performance verification tests wavelength accuracy, stray light, resolution etc. are performed…

Nearly 33% of respondents plan on purchasing a new UV-Vis spectrophotometer in the next year. The reasons for these purchases are as follows:

	Replacing an older spectrophotometer
	Addition to existing systems
	Need an instrument that provides faster acquisition and analysis of data
	Need an instrument that provides excellent reproducibility
	Need an instrument that is simple to operate and maintain
	Need an instrument that has a broad range of accessories
	Other

Top 10 features/factors respondents look for when purchasing a UV-VIS spectrophotometer:

Completed Surveys: 285

For more information on UV-VIS spectrophotometers, including useful articles and a list of manufacturers, visit www.labmanager.com/uv-vis 

See the most recent survey results here