T-rex: refractive index detection instrument

Wyatt Technology announces the launch of its Refractive Index (RI) detection instrument, the Optilab T-rEX. While RI detectors offer extreme sensitivity over a limited range and reduced sensitivity over a greater range, the T-rEX provides full range of detection and sensitivity across the entire dynamic range, meaning there is no longer a need to compromise one for the other.

The instrument has 256 times the detection power and up to 50 times the dynamic range of any RI detector currently on the market and has the ability to measure both large and small signals within the same data run. The range of T-rEX enables the instrument to be used in almost any standard isocratic chromatographic conditions and for many gradient applications.

In addition, recent developments in heterojunction light emitting diodes allow it to have a light source 50 times brighter than previous instrumentation. This light source results in the detector array filling with light much faster than previously possible.

The instrument also offers high speed data acquisition and includes an onboard computer, allowing the rapid scanning of arrays, with one million measurements made every second. It also has a flow cell with a total volume of only 7.4 μL, which is 25 percent less than the refractometers available today. This results in minimised band broadening and better temperature stability.