At Pittcon today, Waters Corporation introduced the new Alliance iS, a next-generation intelligent high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) System. The new instrument is designed to reduce lab errors and compliance risk by adding new levels of proactive error detection, simpler troubleshooting, and improved ease-of-use. The Alliance iS includes the highest integration with Waters’ compliance-ready Empower Chromatography Software and uses the features of the eConnect™ HPLC Columns. The Alliance iS HPLC System makes the task of generating accurate and precise measurements faster and easier by detecting and eliminating common errors by up to 40 percent. These improvements help quality control (QC) laboratories consistently meet the demands of quality, safety, compliance, and on-time product delivery.
“Today’s QC laboratories are very different than they were 50 years ago when Waters introduced its first commercial HPLC system helping ensure the tens of thousands of prescription drugs on the market are pure, safe, and will work as expected,” said Udit Batra, President & CEO, Waters Corporation. “Our conversations with hundreds of QC managers and bench analysts have yielded a deeper understanding of what they need today from a state-of-the-art HPLC system to help them perform at their best. The Waters Alliance iS HPLC System is ideally suited to address issues such as staff training, error-reduction, risk management, and compliance, helping bring significant productivity and quality improvements to high-volume QC laboratories.”
Through the broad and in-depth insights from customers, the Alliance iS HPLC System has been designed for the unique needs of the QC laboratory. It delivers intuitive simplicity for routine measurements. An intuitive touchscreen interface delivers important visual prompts and alerts. The instrument will notify operators of common errors, such as an improper method, a missing sample vial, to refill a solvent bottle, or with the need for system maintenance. The system will also provide a QR code to direct the user to the right place in the instrument manual to efficiently troubleshoot performance issues. Catching these common issues promptly will eliminate system errors that would otherwise impede scientists from ensuring the delivery of needed drugs to patients. Reducing errors also will save the laboratory time and money.
"The product has been built to help researchers resolve errors in the moment and in the lab, saving time, limiting waste, and improving workflow," according to Fraser McLeod, Vice President of quality assurance and QC for Waters Corporation.
The Alliance iS HPLC also integrates with the cloud-native waters_connect™ System Monitoring Software providing real-time monitoring. Lab managers and staff can view the status of their HPLC instrument fleet at any time and from anywhere improving asset utilization and overall productivity.[i]
HPLC instruments continue to provide high value to labs, especially QC labs, through the consistency of the methods they can run and the data they produce. The Alliance iS instrument continues that trend of easy method transfers and connection to legacy data, experiments, and samples.
The new Waters Alliance iS HPLC System has several very important features:
- Highest level of integration with the latest compliance-ready, industry-standard Empower Chromatography Software, which will allow full audit tracking
- A new, embedded instrument touchscreen to guide system operation and maintenance, which will improve productivity
- Full use of eConnect Column Tag Technology to connect to specific column information through near-field communication technology, which will reduce disruptions
- Reducing error through automated system diagnostic pre-checks to improve productivity
- Hands only fittings that will ensure leak free operation and improve performance
The new Waters Alliance iS HPLC instrument will be available beginning in May 2023.
Scott D. Hanton, editorial director for Lab Manager, can be reached at shanton@labmanager.com.
