The School of Applied and Health Sciences is nothing short of ecstatic with the new purchase of the HPLC Shimadzu LC 2050 3D (i-series) which cost 7 Million Kenyan Shillings. While the Technical University of Mombasa has always been keen on keeping up with technological advancements and modern equipment, the HPLC is a big stride towards excellence in the science courses. For three days, both teaching staff and technologists were trained on the use of the HPLC by Mr. Joseph Nyamai-the Technical Sales expert from ESTEC (Educational Scientific & Technical Equipment Company Ltd). 

HPLC is an abbreviation for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. It separates compounds dissolved in a liquid sample enabling qualitative and quantitative analysis. HPLC can be applied to environmental,
biological, drug, and food samples. The commonly analyzed compounds are soluble organic compounds, sugars, amino acids, proteins, vitamins, lipids, biomolecules, and other soluble organic macromolecules.

This new equipment is a more advanced HPLC that delivers 50 MPa of pressure. It is fitted with a photodiode array detector (PDA) enabling the simultaneous measurement of samples from 190 nm to 800 nm. Sampling is automatic using an auto-sampler that has access to four trays where each tray can accommodate 54 vials or samples. Hence about 216 samples could be analyzed in a single batch run. 

Also, supplied with it is the LabSolutions CS software that is user friendly enabling the analyst to operate the HPLC instrument easily, monitor instrument performance on a real-time basis, monitor consumables, schedule sample processing, schedule automatic shutdown of the instrument, and enable the user to perform post-run sample data analysis including preparations of data reports.