Category Archives: pinnacle pcx

Flashy Fun Content Hitting the Web – Amino Acids Analysis and the Onyx PCX

By Maria Ofitserova

Onyx PCX workstationNormally, summer and fall would mark our busy travel season with several important conferences and trade shows to prepare for and attend. With the majority of conferences cancelled, rescheduled or moved to virtual platforms, we are staying close to home and focusing on supporting our customers as they navigate the fast-changing COVID-19 pandemic situation.

After introducing the Onyx PCX at Pittcon in March 2020, we are happy to report positive feedback from users of our newest post-column derivatization instrument. One of our goals when developing the Onyx PCX was to ensure a seamless transition of methods from the Pinnacle PCX to the new model. This allows companies to minimize validation steps when switching to the Onyx PCX and early customer responses show our efforts were worth it! Our extra attention to this during design is definitely being appreciated now by laboratories who already have the Pinnacle PCX system and are looking to expand or update their instrumentation.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to drive expansion of biotech research and manufacturing, with many companies and contract laboratories using amino acids analysis to identify and characterize biopharmaceuticals, determine purity and optimize manufacturing processes. The Onyx PCX is uniquely suitable for performing with excellence in regulated environments. Easy and robust operation, extensive record-keeping capabilities for troubleshooting as well as regulatory compliance and the ability to work with any HPLC setup makes the Onyx PCX a great choice for any laboratory running amino acids analysis.

By spending our time here at home and not presenting at various technical conferences, myself and the other chemists also had the opportunity to get creative and stretch beyond scientific posters into the world of marketing! We have created short videos highlighting the best features of Onyx PCX and capabilities of post-column amino acids analysis. You may have seen our LinkedIn posts about these videos – we are really quite proud of our work. Special thanks to David Mazawa for contributing the technical wizardry and to our graphic design consultant, Phil Mowery, for adding animations and sharpening up our look!

As always, at Pickering Laboratories we are concentrating on providing the best possible service and support for our customers. We have been hard at work strengthening our supply chain, adjusting production and inventory to meet the changing demand and collaborating closely with other companies to support our partners during this difficult time.  We know that our customers will appreciate our grit and resilience during 2020; we want to contribute to the best parts of what is working for your business as well.

Support Bulletin

by David Mazawa

Pinnacle PCX – End of Life Notice



Dear valued customer,

It is with a heavy heart that we stop production of the Pinnacle PCX post-column system. A myriad of production issues has led us to develop a replacement instrument. We have a limited number of new Pinnacle PCX components remaining that we can build with, so we plan to stop production on March 1, 2020 (while supplies last). However, we will have Pinnacle PCX replacement components available until January 2030 to support our customers’ ongoing maintenance and repair needs.

Onyx PCX – New and Improved Instrument 

We have taken this as an opportunity to improve on the Pinnacle PCX design! Our new instrument, the Onyx PCX, has the following improvements and highlights:

Color

The color on the Onyx PCX was updated to be more modern and now the color gradient on the column compartment door mirrors its temperature gradient capability.

Size

The Onyx PCX is slightly larger to allow easier access to the inner compartments. This makes assembly and maintenance easier and faster.

Reagent Tray

The Onyx PCX reagent tray is much larger and can now be used as secondary containment for the reagent bottles. In case of a spill, the reagent tray can hold much more liquid than the Pinnacle reagent tray. There are also handles for easy removal.

LCD

The new larger LCD shows more details of what the instrument is doing. This makes it easy to see the system’s status at a glance.

Reactor

The Onyx PCX reactor is slightly smaller with more efficient heating and allows for field calibration by a trained engineer.

Pump and Valve Motors

The Onyx PCX Pump and Valve motors use different power than the Pinnacle PCX Pump and Valve motors. These are married to the board components and are not backwards compatible.

Column Compartment

No physical differences but we’ve enabled the Onyx PCX column heater to be calibrated in the field by a trained engineer.

Communication with PC

The Onyx PXC communicates exclusively via USB connection to the PC.

Software

The Onyx PCX Control Software has a different look to match the new display.

User Journal

The new User Journal feature records method, sequence details, run times, changes, and error messages for audit compliance.

Contact Pickering Technical Support (support@pickeringlabs.com) for any questions or contact our Customer Service Team (orders@pickeringlabs.com) with quotation requests.

New Method Abstract MA 249

ma_249Analysis of Mycotoxins is an important part of food and feed safety.  As regulations tighten laboratories all around the world expand their testing capabilities to include analysis for different types of toxic fungi metabolites. Pickering Laboratories has a diverse line of products designed for Mycotoxins analysis, including Pinnacle PCX post-column derivatization system, UVE photochemical reactor and immumoaffinity columns. We also developed several methods for single families of Mycotoxins as well as multi-residue protocols.

Our new Method Abstract MA249 describes fast and sensitive method for analysis of Fumonisins FB1, FB2 and FB3. Fumonisins are derivitized with OPA reagent and detected using Fluorescence detector. HPLC and post-column conditions of this method are aligned with a method being considered by Chinese National Food Safety Standards as new official method for Fumonisins in food.

Replacing the Over-pressure Relief Valve Cartridge

Mixing-Manifold-1a 
Cleaning and Reassembly of the Over-pressure Relief Valve

  1. Remove the tubing connections to the Mixing Manifold. Use a 3/32” hex driver to remove the 2 screws holding the Mixing Manifold to the chassis. Use a 3/8” wrench to remove the end cap and discard the old Over-pressure Relief Valve Cartridge. Ultrasonicate the Mixing Manifold for at least 30 minutes. Rinse well with DI water.
      
      
     
  2. Connect the outlet of your HPLC pump to the Mixing Manifold inlet and pump 100% water at 0.5mL/min to verify the Mixing Manifold is not clogged. If the Mixing Manifold is still clogged after cleaning in an ultrasonicating bath, replace the Mixing Manifold Assembly (PN 1452-0040).
     
  3. Turn off the HPLC flow and make sure there is no pressure on the Mixing Manifold. Insert the new OPRV cartridge, green side down, and screw on the end cap to 20”lbs of torque. To approximate this level of torque, first finger tighten, then tighten an additional 1/8-1/4 turn with a 3/8” wrench.
     
  4. To verify the opening pressure of the Over-pressure Relief Valve, plug the two side inlets of the Mixing Manifold and turn on the HPLC pump to 0.5mL/min. Allow the pressure to slowly rise. The Over-pressure Relief Valve should open around 485psi. If the opening pressure is too low, tighten an additional 1/8 of a turn with a 3/8” wrench.

David Mazawa
david.mazawa@pickeringlabs.com
Technical Support Chemist
Pickering Laboratories, Inc.
1280 Space Park Way
Mountain View, CA 94043 USA
Phone: (650)694-6700 ext. 710
Fax: (650)968-0749

 

Simultaneous Analysis of B Vitamins in Protein Powders and Supplements

Our New Method Abstract, MA 239, describes the Simultaneous Analysis of Vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6 using post-column derivatization.

B vitamins are a group of water soluble vitamins that play an important role in cell metabolism. This group consists of a number of compounds including Thiamine (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin and Nicotinamide (Vitamin B3) and Pyridoxine and Pyridoxal (Vitamin B6). B vitamins are found in plant and animal food sources, such as legumes, nuts, green leafy vegetables, red meat and poultry. Many commercial food products are fortified with vitamin B complex and people could take multi-vitamins supplements to help fight vitamin B deficiencies.

Pickering Laboratories offers a method for simultaneous determination of Vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6 in supplements and protein powders. The method uses chemical and photochemical post-column derivatization with Fluorescence detection that increases sensitivity and selectivity of analysis. Photochemical derivatization required for Niacin and Nicotinamide and chemical derivatization is needed for Thiamine. Vitamins B2 and B6 have natural fluorescence.Mixed B Vitamins Chromatograms

METHOD Overview. (to download the complete Method Abstract click HERE)
Instrument set up

Connect the instruments in the following order:
– Pinnacle PCX post-column derivatization instrument
– UVE™ photochemical reactor
– Fluorescence detector

Sample Preparation
For protein powders:
To 0.5 g of samples add 50 mL of extraction buffer (0.1 N NaOH adjusted to pH 2 with Phosphoric acid). Homogenize using hand held homogenizer for 30 sec and heat on a water bath at 100 ºC for 30 min. Cool the solution down, filter through 0.45 um nylon filter and inject. Protect from light.

For multi-vitamins supplements tablets:
Blend at least 10 tablets to a fine powder and mix the entire sample thoroughly. Weigh 250 mg of sample and add 90 mL of DI water acidified to pH 2.6 with 0.1 N HCl. Stir using magnetic stirring plate for 2 hours, protecting from light. Make the volume up to 100 mL with acidified water. Filter the sample through a 0.45 um nylon filter and inject. Protect from light.

Analytical Conditions
Analytical Column: Thermo Hypersil, Aquasil C18 (4.6×150 mm)
Column Temperature: 40 ºC
Flow Rate: 1 mL/min
Mobile Phase:
Solvent A: Potassium Phosphate Monobasic in DI water, adjusted with KOH, brought to 1L DI water.
Solvent B: Acetonitrile.

Post-column Conditions
Post-column Derivatization System: Pinnacle PCX and UVE Photochemical Reactor
Reactor Volume: 0.5 mL
Reactor Temperature: 30 ºC
Reagent: Sodium Hydroxide in DI water, with Sodium Sulfite
Detection: FLD